Also, be sure to read about the Banana Pi BPI-R3 Router board.
Banana Pi BPI-M2S
We heard quite a lot about single board computers having two Ethernet ports/LANs. Now Sinvoip joined the same product line with their new Banana Pi BPI-M2S board built around the Amlogic A311D system-on-chip (SoC).
The main highlight of the board is not only its A311D six-p-cores processor but also has better GPU performance. Next to the CPU, you have a snappy rm Mali-G52 graphical processor running at 800 MHz, a Cortex-M4 real-time core, and a neural processing unit (NPU) coprocessor with a claimed performance of five trillion operations per second (5 TOPS).
Banana Pi BPI-M2S Specifications
- Amlogic A311D Quad-core ARM Cortex-A73 and dual-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU
- NPU for AI: Next generation, deep-neural-network applications, at 5.0 TOPS
- GPU: ARM G52 MP4(6EE) GPU
- 4GB LPDDR4 RAM
- 16GB eMMC flash (Max 128G)
- Support MIPI DSI Camera interface
- Support MIPI CSI Screen interface
- x2 Gigabit port
- HDMI output
- 40 PIN GPIO
- Support Android and Linux systems.
Other Interfaces
SinoVOIP’s Banana Pi BPI-M2S comes with a 16GB of eMMC storage, expandable with a MicroSD slot on the underside, 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, MIPI DSI and CSI display and camera interfaces, an HDMI port, a single USB 2.0 port, and a USB Type-C connector for power — plus a Raspberry Pi-compatible general-purpose input/output (GPIO) header.
Banana Pi M2S | Board Layout
Dimensions
The BPI-M2S board has square-shaped and is very compact, measuring 2.6″ x 2.6″ (60x60mm). According to SinoVoip information, a metal case will become available, so the cooling of the board chips will improve through the case shell.
Internal Storage (eMMC)
Compared to other competitors, SinoVOIP decided to add an eMMC Chip. A wise step considering the relatively low speeds of microSD cards you have to use if you are planning on using this product as a type of gateway firewall bridge device. From personal experience, testing other brands with dual Ethernet ports you will most likely need to use V30 or V60 type of Cards to make sure you get maximum read / to write speeds. Having said that, the eMMC option takes care of this issue so the end-user doesn’t have to buy a card to load the OS system files.
Software Support
As yet, we don’t have much more information about the Banana Pi BPI-M2S board. Most likely, it will support Android and Linux operating systems. The dual Ethernet ports will most likely be used in this board to run OpenWrt and perhaps Opnsense distribution running under FreeBSD OS. Amlogic as a company always provided good support for GPU hardware acceleration, so we expect Kodi to play video files and streams more smoothly. Further details about the board announcement can be found on Banana Pi’s official Twitter account.
Practical Applications
Cyber Security Solution
As mentioned previously this board is an ideal choice for users that are interested in adding an additional security protection layer to their existing home/office router. Also, it can be used portably as a great cyber security protection solution when using a Mini PC or laptop while connected to a non-secure network. All you need is a 5V 2A power source and you are ready to go.
Camera Surveillance
Another application for the Banana Pi BPI-M2S is using it as an open-source Camera Surveillance solution. The board has a dual MIPI interface. With them, you can connect two camera modules.
This low-cost camera solution can save a lot of money, plus you can place it in various environments, such as factories or other locations where supervision is needed. Last and finally, Users interested in exploring this option would be happy to know that using the POE (Power over Ethernet) expansion board, it’s also possible to power the board through an ethernet cable.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Support
Because of this board’s relatively small form factor measuring 65 x 65mm, users who really need wireless connectivity support will need to buy a separate WiFi & Bluetooth expansion board. It’s not a must-have item, but some users would probably want this option, so we decided to point this matter out.
Price & Availability
There is currently no final price for the board because it’s a relatively new and fresh product. We promise to update this article with the relevant information as soon as we get it. Meanwhile, you are welcome to check for other boards on the Banana Pi Official AliExpress store.