cluster (Nexcom NViS14162 NVR PoE)
Summary
A low power 1U server with a couple 8-port fast ethernet PoE switches. Lacks PCIe expansion.
Notes
TODO
Hardware
| Make | Nexcom |
| Year | 2022 |
| Model | NViS14162_POE16-J6426 |
| Chassis | NViS 14162 |
| Power Supply | Delta DPS-410AB-2A 418W +12V4A +53V7A |
| Processor | Intel Pentium J6426 |
| Memory | 8GB DDR4 2400 Crucial CT4G4SFS824A.M8FE |
| Ports | 2x RJ-45 LAN |
| 2x USB A 3.1 gen 1 | |
| 2x USB A 2.0 | |
| HDMI 2.0b | |
| DVI-I | |
| DB-9 Serial | |
| 3.5mm Line in | |
| 3.5mm Line out | |
| 3.5mm Microphone | |
| 16x RJ-45 PoE | |
| 4DI/2DO terminal block | |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics for 10th Gen |
| Storage | 64GB SanDisk Z400S M.2 SD8SMAT-064G-1006 |
| Display | - |
| Int. Peripherals | 3x Intel I211 Gigabit Ethernet |
| Intel I225-V 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet | |
| ASMedia ASM1061R 2-port SATA RAID | |
| 2x IC PLUS IP1810 8-port FE + 2 GE switch | |
| Ext. Peripherals | |
| Dimensions | |
| Length/Depth | 34.8 cm |
| Width | 43 cm |
| Height/Thickness | 4.45 cm |
| Weight | 4.62 kg (10 lbs 3 oz) |
Software
| Operating System | Debian 13 |
| Unique applications |
Log
Initial setup
Got this on ebay for cheap from ascendtech, about $42. The eMMC option was not populated. I added 8GB of RAM, and a 64GB M.2 SATA SSD.
It boots a bit slow. Spends a long time on the ASMedia RAID screen.
I stuck a quick Debian install on it. Single partition, and I did not set the host's domain.
I ran the install with the case top off; thermals are probably terrible. After the install, the CPU was about 54°C. Under load I saw up to 66°C.
I took some thermal images (case had been running open). Most of the heat seems to be around PoE power supply, but the CPU heatsink isn't very visible due to IR reflectivity. Camera was set to Fahrenheit, 170°F is about 77°C.
There were some i2c and udev hangs with the initial install during boot, updates, and shutdown. I realized I did a Debian 12 (bookworm) install, so I did a quick update to Debian 13 (trixie).
Newer kernel booted much quicker, no hangs, just a elkhart-pinctrl error. Shutdown is also quick and clean. Seems to have taken care of the major problems.
The power supply fan is not speed controlled, and is real annoying. The supply stays on independent of the PC, but I didn't check if the PC state has any influence on the PoE switches yet.
Typical power draw seems to be around 31W, with CPU load taking it up to 38W. This is with no hard drives, and no PoE devices. I didn't do any power tuning (powertop, BIOS, etc).
There is a utility for PoE switch configuration and power monitoring. From the docs it seems to communicate over serial. Nexcom only hosts the Windows binary, but the documentation includes instructions and screenshots for a Linux version. I tried to make a request for it to be hosted, but I'm not sure the form went through.
Some planning
I did some poking around inside, and removed the motherboard for a bit. I noticed Nexcom used a thermal pad for the I225-V 2.5GbE chip. The chip was marked SLNMH. I think that is revision 3 which fixes some issues with the I225-V.
Some chips from the bottom of the board:
- TI MSP430
- 16-bit microcontroller
- TI DP159
- DisplayPort Retimer
- Chrontel CH7517A-BF
- DisplayPort to VGA (for the DVI-I port)
- MaxLinear SP339EER1
- RS232/485/422 Transceiver
- OnSemi NCP81283
- Industrial buck solution for Intel CPU
- Analog Devices 1250ARZ
- I2C Digital Isolator (near PoE supply)
Maybe later I'll go over the top side, and do a board annotation.
Here's a few photos:
I have a few ideas about modifications, and a potential use for this machine.
- Fix the fan noise
I'm going to swap the fans for Noctua A4x20 fans. They are both 40x20mm. The power supply one is 12V, and needs a 2-pin connector, and the motherboard one is standard PWM 4-pin connector.
Original PSU fan was a Delta TAA0412BD 12V 0.36A. I didn't remove the other fan to check yet, TODO.
- Thermal pad the PoE section to the case
The PoE area gets pretty warm. I'm a little wary of thermal pads there since the voltage is around 50V. Maybe end up with some heatsinks on a few top-side chips as well. Spacing between the board and chassis is almost 4.5mm.
The I225V thermal pad was only 4mm, but the chip still squished it noticeabley. It was some sort of white tack substance with a gray plastic liner on the chip side.
This should hopefully make up for the reduced fan cooling.
- A power supply for my tiny machines
I was thinking if I begin to collect a bunch of PoE splitters (12V/5V barrel jack, various USB), then I could power quite a lot of my little machines.
The general idea would be to use this machine as a base, and make a sort of crate rack out of it where all the other machines live. Alternatively, something like a portable 6U-8U rack might do the job.
Most of the machines involved would be things like small ARM SBCs, network router and firewall devices, and maybe a few other oddballs. Ideally everything would stay under the 15W limit per port. Some machines might be small enough to gang on a single port.
The ultimate goal is to build some sort of networking playground. Maybe a simulated corporate network, or tiny internet.
- Some storage
It might make sense to have a fair amount of storage for things like PxE booting, install images, and such. I think I have a pair of 1.5TB drives, and I'm sure I have a couple 500GB in the worst case.