SolidRun has introduced its “ClearFog CX 8K” SBC which is designed based on a “CEx7 A8040” COM Express Type 7 module that operates Linux on a quad -A72 Armada A8040. The board has a similar sandwich-style build like the earlier, dual Cortex-A9 Armada 38x driven ClearFog Pro and ClearFog Base boards. The ClearFog CX 8K SBC integrates SolidRun’s new CEx7 A8040 COM via a COM Express Basic Type 7 interface. The carrier board has four 10GbE ports, but you can only use two of them. The reason for this is not clear yet.
The CEx7 A8040 module exploits the Basic Type 7 form factor, which is generally present in “server-on-module” often featuring high-end Intel Xeon D 15xx or Atom C3xxx processors. Arm-based Type 7 modules are very rare, only few modules like the Reflex CES’ COMXpressSX Stratix 10 comes to mind. SolidRun says that moving to Type 7 will enable “simpler development and deployment options, and simple interchangeability” with future modules. Hopefully, this will include a module with support for 4x 10GbE ports. The 125 x 95mm CEx7 A8040 supports Debian and Yocto Project stacks based on Linux Kernel 4.4x. The module offers 8GB eMMC and supports up to 16GB DDR4.
The CEx7 A8040 offers dual 10GbE interfaces, 2x SATA III, PCIe Gen 3 x4, and 2x mini-PCIe lanes. SolidRun says that the COM enables Marvell’s 88f8040 secured boot “and high performance security hardware acceleration engines, enabling enhanced security features such as IPsec”. Virtualization support is enabled, this allows several operating system to run at the same time on the same machine. The module supports 0 to 70°C operation just like the ClearFog CX8K board.
