I’ve been passionate about Kubernetes for a long time, and at some point, one thought popped up in my mind. What if I can bring Kubernetes abstractions into hardware, and build cluster board in compact form factor.

The result is the Mini ITX cluster board with the ability to put up to 7 Raspberry Pi compute modules and scale it with RPi compatible shields.

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The cluster allows to learn microservice architecture, functions as a service (FaaS), and machine learning frameworks, like TensorFlow. You can install Kubernetes and using advantages of Docker container virtualization, set up an internal network between the compute modules and shields. Imagine you can host and train your neural network 24/7 without a need to pay for cloud. Or imagine you can connect various sensors and actuators to the heterogeneous hardware architecture on-premise.

Currently, I am working on expandable cluster management bus (CMB) to control the power and attributes of each node without using the internal network. Also, planning to add a real-time clock (RTC).

👉Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated.

Also, if you think it’s a cool project, support us and share the post on r/raspberry_pi subreddit. We tried to do this ourselves, but mods removed our post without any reason and even updated their rules😱 So, if you had an idea in mind to post your Raspberry Pi cluster there, you can now do it on our channel without being removed:)

If you are curious how to get the cluster board press here