Hardware: openHAB/MiOS Integration on an Hardkernel Odroid C1 with Ubuntu

Plugins & Plugin Development openHAB MiOS Binding
#1

[quote=“guessed, post:294, topic:181558”][quote=“a-lurker, post:292, topic:181558”]Saw your mention of the Odroid boards. Was wondering why you chose the ODroid C1 over the ODroid U3 used by ap? It’s a moveable feast: Cubieboard3/Cubietruck looks like a goer and the upcoming Cubieboard4 also looks good. Suppose it’s a question of time & money.

Board comparisons[/quote]

I like a challenge. I know I can buy a ($70) ODroid U3, and it’ll work just fine, but I also like to try new things, and the ($36) ODroid C1 is a good fit for that :wink: Worst case, if it doesn’t pan-out, it’s not that much to buy the U3 (or an XU3 Lite) and reuse the C1 as a syslog server… It’s also handy that they ship locally from NoCal (ameridroid), so delivery is ~1day.

Realistically, like a RPi, both need a number of bits before they become really practical.[/quote]

I tar-balled the files and copied them over to the ODroid C1 and it started up just fine. I do have to run it in non-debug mode, in order to keep the log verbosity down, but it seems to have reasonable performance so far (albeit that I lost TTS for the moment)

I may upgrade to using the MMC module, since I’m only using a 16GB MiniSD (Samsung EVO, UHS-1) at the moment and it’s finicky to boot with their current drivers.

I’ll leave it running for a day and see if it’s worthwhile cutting over wholesale, but for the moment I’m running it on both my Mac Mini and the C1, with both hitting on Vera at the same time. tsk, tsk…

#2

Amazing, just $36 USD. Whatever happened to warehouses, full of IBM washing machines as far you could see, at a couple of MBytes per drive?

Clearly the world has gone mad :o

However, I think you’re going to need the debug info.

#3

…and when you had a bunch of developers all sharing it and you could hear the office groan when someone ran make in the middle of the day 8)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IBM_1311_disk_drive_at_CHM.agr.jpg

I used to have a platter from DEC’s version of that on my office wall. It used to remind me of how much IO costs (in so many ways)

However, I think you're going to need the debug info.

You’re right.

I’ve switched it back on so I can diag things. Doesn’t really seem to impact it, and I’ve got iostat (and friends) running so I can see what’s going on if I need to.

#4

[quote=“guessed, post:1, topic:185648”]I tar-balled the files and copied them over to the ODroid C1 and it started up just fine. I do have to run it in non-debug mode, in order to keep the log verbosity down, but it seems to have reasonable performance so far (albeit that I lost TTS for the moment)

I may upgrade to using the MMC module, since I’m only using a 16GB MiniSD (Samsung EVO, UHS-1) at the moment and it’s finicky to boot with their current drivers.

I’ll leave it running for a day and see if it’s worthwhile cutting over wholesale, but for the moment I’m running it on both my Mac Mini and the C1, with both hitting on Vera at the same time. tsk, tsk…[/quote]

This has now been running successfully on the Odroid C1 for about a week now. I shutdown the version from the Mac Mini last Thursday in order to complete the cutover, prior to heading to Vegas (with @strangely)

In that time, I’ve had a few people ask me for comment on the specifics of what I’m running, and the early feedback on the stack… so here’s the details so far:

Hardware

[ul][li]Odroid C1 - Quad Core 1.5Ghz ARM 5 Processor, 1GB RAM, RTC, 1GbE, onBoard IR Receiver[/li]
[li]Options added - 16GB EVO (UHS-1) Samsung MicroSD, Battery for RTC, Case, [micro] Barrel power connector, 5V 2A Power supply[/li][/ul]

Software

[ul][li]Ubuntu Linux version 3.10.43 (root@xu-b1) (gcc version 4.9.2 (Ubuntu/Linaro 4.9.2-0ubuntu1~14.04) ) #1 SMP PREEMPT Mon Jan 5 07:39:54 BRST 2015[/li]
[li]Java version “1.8.0_06”[/li]
[li]openHAB 1.6.0, with MiOS Bridge Binding 1.7.0 & [tt]/etc/init.d[/tt] startup script[/li][/ul]

The good…

[ul][li]Startup is on-par with the Mac Mini, even when diagnostic logging is enabled in openHAB.[/li]
[li]Ongoing runtime is not [noticeably] slower than the Mac Mini[/li]
[li]Power usage on the dedicated controller is better than the “lift” I was causing on my Mac Mini by running it there[/li]
[li]It’s small, being about the size of a RPi (I’ll post a picture for comparison shortly)[/li]
[li]There’s active forum discussion on the Odroid C1 board, and patches are coming in regularly for the issues identified[/li][/ul]

The bad…

[ul][li]The specific model of MicroSD Card I used has problems on reboot, and requires a power cycle instead of a software reboot[/li]
[li]I’ve had Java 8 crash once, and never had Java 7 crash on the Mac Mini[/li]
[li]I patched last week to “disable” the UHS-1 (MicroSD speed) to improve the power-on first-boot, but it didn’t fix the problem with reboot[/li]
[li]I lost the [native] Mac-based TTS I was using, due to the platform shift, and the “generic” TTS options aren’t as nice sounding as Samantha[/li]
[li]The barrel-jack power connector is tiny (2.8mm external, 0.7mm internal), and wasn’t able to be sourced locally[/li]
[li]There’s a problem with the Console Serial interface, which results in one Core going to 100% - work-around available, but no fix yet[/li][/ul]

Overall, it has a ways to go before it’s ready for wide-consumption, but it’s looking promising especially for the price-point.

#5

Just a quick update. Moved my C1 up to Odroid’s r1.2 Linux bundle (Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS, Linux 3.10.67-55), and they’ve done some serious work on the Ethernet driver (well, forum user @mlinuxguy did).

Using iperf, on a shared gigE switch between my Mac Mini and the C1, I consistently get 408 Mbits/sec in one direction, and 930 Mbits/sec in the other. Not bad for a little guy…

Things are generally more stable, but I continue to have issues with the Samsung EVO MicroSD card not working on SW reboot. I may switch it out for a PNY that I have. I’ll find out in a few days if there are still issues with the Java8 lockups (they take ~3 days to kick-in)

#6

Thanks for the update. Debating on if I should move my work in progress instance from my vm over to a odroid c1 or the new pi 2.

  • Garrett
#7

This is an intresting topic, i am watching with intrest to see what will be a stable and nice platform for Openhab. thanks for sharing this.

#8

With the RPi 2 out, it’s definitely a closer race.

I think if you’re looking for something bulletproof, that won’t need too much tinkering, then folks will go with the RPi. Otherwise, tinkerer’s looking for a little more performance/functionality (CPU, Flash & Ethernet & RTC) will likely lean towards the Odroid C1 (or it’s larger brother, the U3)

… at least for folks comparing these two options, there are a lot of others out there also, as the main Hardware thread shows.

In my case, I’m looking to do some video processing & collection. The collection won’t be intensive, but the processing will be, so I’ll likely need all the help I can get…

#9

I finally got around to moving this into my Wiring Closet. It was previously under the desk in my office, attached to that UPS, but it’s been running very stable for a few months now so it was time to move it into it’s permanent home.

It’s attached to the 12v Battery-backed power supply I run in the wiring closet, and I’ve used a 12V/5V converter to power both my ODroid C1 and for the Rainforest Eagle, and keep all the bits close (and only one GigE switch apart)

As part of the move, I switched the ODroid over to using an MMC Memory module, form the MicroSD. I didn’t really need to, but since I’m going to grow that stack I figured I might as well do it now to avoid issues down the line.

I also took the time to turn my Mac into a remote TTS server and, since it’s hooked into my Sonos, my C1 can issue commands to my Mac and it’ll speak them over the Sonos (well, just the one in my office for the moment). It’s a little Rube Goldberg 'esq, but the Mac TTS Voices are nice, and it avoids the internet dependency for TTS.