Measuring high-speed network performance with CubieTruck

Truckin'

© Lead Image © Konstantin-Sutyagin, 123RF.com

© Lead Image © Konstantin-Sutyagin, 123RF.com

Article from Issue 170/2015
Author(s):

The CubieTruck small-board PC is a measuring instrument that copes well with Gigabit networks and offers a surprisingly affordable and efficient solution.

Any network infrastructure on which LTE connections are used quickly reaches its limits. The project in this article includes throughput tests; however, because LTE technology supports bandwidths of more than 100Mbps, my MacBook Air was ruled out, because it only has a 100Mb USB Ethernet adapter. The various Raspberry Pis, with 100Mbps interfaces, are not fast enough either, so my task was to find an affordable alternative that ran Linux.

Two single-board computers (SBCs) were on my shortlist: the CubieTruck [1] and the Wandboard [2]. Both small PCs have newer versions – the CubieTruck is the third generation of the Cubie family [3], and versions of the Wandboard also exist with more CPU (performance and cores) and more RAM; both boards offer Gigabit Ethernet. However, I couldn't find a retailer offering the Wandboard, so I finally decided on the CubieTruck (Figure 1).

CubieTruck

Figure 2 shows the CubieTruck package: The board comes with a small, ultrathin heat sink, a SATA cable for connecting hard drives, an OTG cable, a USB cable, a power cable, and a case or mounting plate; the microSD card and the console cable, which proved very valuable for experiments with self-made kernels, come separately.

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • ioBroker

    The smart home market includes a number of different vendor environments. You'll need a capable broker to fit them under one roof.

  • Bluetooth Wireless Network

    You can even use Bluetooth as an alternative form of wireless networking. We’ll show you how.

  • Bluetooth Mobile Phones

    It is becoming increasingly common for new generation mobile phones to have an integrated Bluetooth interface. This article explores how to access your Bluetooth phone using Linux.

  • CrossOver 14 Linux

    Have you transitioned from Windows to Linux and then found that you still need the occasional Windows program? You could set up a virtual machine, but CrossOver Linux offers a faster and more efficient approach.

  • Bluetooth Headsets

    We’ll show you how to set up support for a Bluetooth stereo headset.

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News