Apollo - A Raspberry Pi Supercomputer

[1823alex]

So this project is pretty much done for now, I will post updates whenever I decide to change something like add more Pis, get a different power source which will be a pretty big project with cables and stuff.

 

 

Table of Contents

1. Reasoning

2. Case Design

3. Power Management

4. Cable Management

5. Coding (might change that and leave it out altogether)

 

The Parts

Raspberry Pis

AmazonBasics 4 port USB 3.0 Hub, chosen because it has a sufficient power supply

5x Micro USB Cables 3 feet each, can find on eBay for pretty cheap, got mine for $5 with shipping

Plexi, Standoffs other parts, had those laying around

 

Update Logs

Update #1, Test Fitting and Getting All the Parts In!

Update #2, Building the housing, fitting it all together, and final assembly

 

If anyone wants to be tagged with @yourusername type of thing for notifications for new updates PM me and I will put you guys in tags in a spoiler or something in the updates.

[1823alex]

1. Reasoning

My reasoning isn’t that good for this project it’s more of a for fun thing and something I can use to learn some coding since I’d like to become more familiar with a terminal type of interface and be familiar with Python and other core programming languages. Also want to be able to know how to use programs that can distribute work loads across multiple devices, on a small scale since if I do go into IT as I'm planning to, I think I might need this or it might just be helpful or cool to know, Knowledge is power isn't it?

[1823alex]

2. Case Design

My first case design was going to be just like http://likemagicappears.com ‘s design which I absolutely loved but when I looked into how to make everything I quickly realized it would be much larger than I was planning, and would also cost a significant amount more than I was willing to pay. The case design I’m going to be using is fairly simple but won’t be angled nicely or anything since I do not have access to a CNC machine and I also don’t know anyone that does have access to one. The case is to be made of 3 layers, all plexi-glass. The layers will be separated by Metal standoffs, which will run throughout every layer in the middle and sides. In order to keep the raspberry pis organized and in place, I will also use these standoffs to keep them in rows which most likely won’t tower higher than 3-5, but I will be expanding the system later on with Raspberry Pi 2’s later on. Each layer will have a specific purpose meaning that layer 1 (starting from bottom up) will have Network Switches, and Power for the Raspberry Pis, then layer 2 or the middle layer will either house anything extra or be empty for the time being. Layer 3 aka the top layer will house the actual Raspberry Pis.

Picture here when it gets finished, Patience is key my friend

[1823alex]

3. Power Management

Raspberry Pi’s don’t use that much power but I really don’t wanna have 8 power adapters just for 8 Pis plus network switch power adapters and whatever else. So my current idea is to use powered USB hubs to power the Pis. I plan on using AmazonBasic’s powered 4-port USB hub to power 4 Pis per hub using all the ports on each hub. However If I decided to expand on this I’d have about 10 USB hubs everywhere which wouldn’t be very nice, but at that point I might have a different case or something, but the solution to that is to use a regular computer power supply and use the +5v and – (Ground) to power all the micro-usb cables by cutting off the regular male usb end and splicing it and connecting all of them to molex connectors, keeping in mind not to override each rail but that would probably take a lot of Raspberry Pis on one connector. Later on it might become necessary and a better option to run a computer power supply since I can use the Sata Power connectors to power some hard drives and then put one hard drive for each Pi on the 2nd/middle layer of the case and connect them up, and then everything can be powered off and shutdown by one unit, which will be much better in my opinion than having to disconnect everything individually and having everything run off of one thing makes a lot less point of failures than having to replace USB hubs every year or two expecting they eventually crap out and die from being used like this which I do doubt but this is a hypothetical. The problem with this is that I don’t know the proper pinout of a sata power connector or anything like that.

[1823alex]

4. Cable Management

Cable management is commonly thought of a grueling tedious no one wants to do it task but I’m gonna end up doing it anyways since I would rather spend an hour or two managing cables if it looks really nice in the end. So I plan to have wires out of sight or tidied up nicely everywhere and have everything go out the back and then deal with that rats nest of cables later since it won’t actually be seen. I’ll post some pictures of what it looks like when I get this project underway as usual.

[1823alex]

5. The Coding

The coding was a bit of a pain and I'm not actually sure if it did work but I followed an awesome guide from Tinkernut here's his website and the places where he has the code you need to install the programs that make the Pis communicate together. 

http://www.tinkernut.com/2014/04/27/make-cluster-computer/

http://www.tinkernut.com/2014/05/09/make-cluster-computer-part-2/

[Tedster]

Very much reserved...

[1823alex]

lol, who doesn't love some reserved space?

[Decon]

lol, who doesn't love some reserved space?

sorry to hate but this is kinda silly... what a waste of money;

 

you could just use a live usb/existing computer to learn how to use bash/python...

[1823alex]

sorry to hate but this is kinda silly... what a waste of money

It's not really a supercomputer since it's not very powerful but it is more of a for fun project I won't have more than 5-8 Pis anyways there are some people that have spent upwards of $3,000 on this type of thing... Way to much so in comparison this is nothing.

[Gofspar]

sorry to hate but this is kinda silly... what a waste of money;

 

you could just use a live usb/existing computer to learn how to use bash/python...

He could spend $2 on a VPS to learn python, but he wants to have a scaled down computing cluster. Kinda cool if you ask me.

[LemonSpice]

It's not really a supercomputer since it's not very powerful but it is more of a for fun project I won't have more than 5-8 Pis anyways there are some people that have Spent upwards of $3,000 on this type of thing... Way to much so in comparison this is nothing.

is it pi 2 or original pi because if it is orgiginal you could have bought two and been faster

[Tedster]

is it pi 2 or original pi because if it is orgiginal you could have bought two and been faster

This looks like the Pi 2 to me.

 

I've always wanted to do something like this.

[LemonSpice]

He could spend $2 on a VPS to learn python, but he wants to have a scaled down computing cluster. Kinda cool if you ask me.

its also a fun project in generall

[Raboo]

This is going to be the pi 2 or pi 1?

Followed.

[1823alex]

This is going to be the pi 2 or pi 1?

Followed.

 

 

is it pi 2 or original pi because if it is orgiginal you could have bought two and been faster

Sadly, I currently only have a Pi B, and I bought a Pi B+ about a week before they released the Pi 2, but when I upgrade I'll definitely buy Pi 2s, also right now they also have limited availability and sell for $5-10 extra dollars on places like eBay because of the limited availability.  Although with the case design I have the top level which houses the Pis, can have standoffs which will hold the Pis in rows as tall as 4 most likely. So the row has to be of all the same version. So I could have a 3 Pi 2 rows which are upgraded and a Pi B row. So nothing is set in stone as to what model/version I have to buy the tower just needs to be the same so that the standoffs can connect properly.

[CatCloud]

hmm black text, black background...fair enough. guess ill have to change theme.

[1823alex]

hmm black text, black background...fair enough. guess ill have to change theme.

Oops I copied over from my WordPress gimme a bit to fix it.

[1823alex]

Update Log #1, Test fitting and Getting All the Parts In!

​So today I got the rest of the parts in the mail, I was waiting on USB cables, USB Hub, and a 2nd Raspberry Pi, luckily it all came today

One of the five Micro USB Cables I got

The AmazonBasics USB Hub without the power adapter in the picture

The Raspberry Pi B stacked on the B+ using special standoffs and a GeauxRobot dogbone stackable case kit without the actual case

The Netgear 8 port DS108 10/100 network hub for the Pis, will upgrade when necessary

Yup that's the plexiglass in the background to keep it together I've got it taped so when I drill the holes they're all even which is why I didn't do a test fit or proof of concept pic tonight, it will come tomorrow, promise!

 

Everything seems to be pretty perfet, I'll post another update tomorrow sometime since I'll be putting holes in the plexiglass and figuring out how to use standoffs to get space in between each layer and put it all together. I do wish the Pi B and B+ followed the same mounting hole scheme, since the B has a non-traditional as far as I know type and the B+, and all the new Pis follow an industry standard from what I can tell type of scheme, but luckily I mis-ordered that plexi-glass stack able kit, although the choice was the Ethernet/USB pertrude out the back or have it be flushed in farther so I figured keep the ports all on the same side for uniformness right? Later on the Pi B will be by itself on a separate level and control all the other Pis which will either be B+ or Pi 2 since those both have the same mounting holes form the pics that I've seen so far. More updates tomorrow, so stay tuned guys, for now check out the pics in the spoiler above if you haven't already.

[DerBernd]

I suggest you read this one: Raspberry Pi FAQ - Power. - The Hub could damage your Pis but not necessarily so.

 

You could do something like this: Powering the Pi's via the GPIO pins.

[1823alex]

I suggest you read this one: Raspberry Pi FAQ - Power. - The Hub could damage your Pis but not necessarily so.

 

You could do something like this: Powering the Pi's via the GPIO pins.

Huh, thanks for pointing that out, I didn't think of that, although I won't be using the USB ports really just 1 port for a Logitech keyboard dongle. However like I said in the power management, I was planning on eventually powering everything from a computer power supply. Just that it will be a pain in the butt to do since I wouldn't power from GPIO, I would cut the USB end off of the MicroUSB cables and hotwire it to the molex +5v and - (Ground) connector. Right now with the 2 Pis I have the hub seems to be working fine, but if I buy more Pis I do believe you're right about me having some issues. However the B+ draws 600ma, and the B is like 700ma if I remember right, so as long as I only use the B+ I should be able to conserve more power.

[1823alex]

Update #2, Building the housing, fitting it all together, and final assembly

 

I'm a little tired right now so for a little while it might just be pictures with some captions, so please bare with me.