The ODROID-HC2, available for purchase at Hardkernel's Website, is an affordable mini PC and perfect solution for a network attached storage (NAS) server. This home cloud-server centralizes data and enables users to share and stream multimedia files to phones, tablets, and other devices across a network. It is ideal many use cases such as: single users on many devices, sharing between family members, developers or a group. The ODROID-HC2 can be tailor to your specific needs. There is plenty of software available and easy to use with only simple configuration. The first step is to determine the storage capacity of your server. Also, depending on your needs, the frame is made to be stackable, so you can add more HC2 nicely on top of eachother to expand a system.
The HC2 is based on the very powerful ODROID-XU4 platform and it can run Samba, FTP, NFS, SSH, NGINX, Apache, SQL, Docker, WordPress, and many other server programs smoothly and full Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Debian, Arch and OMV. Available and ready-to-go OS distributions are available on our WiKi. Any OS for the XU4 is fully compatible with the HC2. https://wiki.odroid.com/odroid-xu4/os_images/os_images.
Configured with a high performance SATA port and a Gigabit Ethernet port, to build a faster network storage device. The engineered metal frame body is designed to store a 2.5 inch HDD/SSD or 3.5inch HDD with amazing heat dissipation.
Key features
- Samsung Exynos 5422 Cortex-A15 2Ghz and Cortex-A7 Octa core CPUs
- 2Gbyte LPDDR3 RAM PoP stacked
- SATA-3 port for 3.5inch or 2.5inch HDD/SSD storage, up to 27mm height
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- USB 2.0 Host
- UHS-1 capable micro-SD card slot for boot media
- Approximately 197mm x 115mm x 42mm (aluminum cooling frame)
- Linux server OS images based on modern Kernel 4.14 LTS
We guarantee the production of ODROID-HC2 to the middle of 2020, but expect to continue production long after.
CPU and RAM performance
We ran several benchmarks to measure the computing power on the HC2/XU4. The same tests were performed on the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, ODROID-C1+, ODROID-C2, and ODROID-HC2/XU4. The values of the test results were scaled uniformly for comparison purposes. The computing power of the HC2/XU4 was measured to be about 7 times faster than the latest Raspberry Pi 3 thanks to the 2Ghz Cortex-A15 cores and much higher 64bit-wide memory bandwidth. Using the HC2/XU4 as a computer provides a "professional server like" experience, unlike the sluggish performance of most single-board computers! Particularly for developers, compiling code on the HC2/XU4 is super fast. The high-performance 2GB DDR3 RAM is an additional advantage allowing most programs to be compiled directly on the HC2/XU4.
| Benchmarks (Index Score) | Raspberry Pi 3 | ODROID-C1+ | ODROID-C2 | ODROID-XU4/HC1/HC2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unixbench: Dhrystone-2 | 865.4 | 1571.6 | 2768.2 | 5941.4 |
| Unixbench: Double-Precision Whetstone (x3) | 1113 | 1887.3 | 3076.8 | 6186.3 |
| Nbench 2.2.3: Integer (x40) | 619.92 | 1173.6 | 1808.92 | 2430.52 |
| Nbench 2.2.3: Floating-Point (x100) | 781.8 | 1245.3 | 2300.3 | 3787.3 |
| mbw100: Memory Bandwidth (MiB/s) | 542.912 | 616.339 | 1472.856 | 2591.461 |
Ethernet Performance
The HC2/HC1/XU4 has an on-board Gigabit Ethernet controller. Our bi-directional streaming speed was measured at around 910 Mbps. Thanks to the advanced technology of the RTL8153 controller, the HC2's Ethernet controller easily outperforms the connectivity solutions of prior generations. The tests shown in Figure 4 were run using the following commands:
Server mode
$ iperf -sClient Mode
$ iperf -c [ip address] -P 10 -W 32k
| Ethernet performance | XU3 On-board 100Mbps | XU3 External 1Gbps | HC2/XU4 On-board 1Gbps |
|---|---|---|---|
| iperf Server on SBC (Mbit/sec) | 114.0 | 419 | 915.0 |
| iperf Client on SBC (Mbit/sec) | 114.0 | 625 | 911.0 |
Network storage performance
These days, network storage applications like NAS and cloud services are popular. We ran the famous Open Media Vault, or OMV, OS on the HC2 to measure network storage performance. A Western Digital 3.5inch 8TB NAS HDD was connected to the HC2 via SATA port. The Gigabit Ethernet port was connected to a Windows-10 laptop via a simple switching hub.
We copied a big 8GB file from the HC2 to the PC via a Samba connection. This resulted in a download speed of around 110MB/sec. The upload speed was measured at around 95MB/sec. The transfer speed is very close to the high-end commercial NAS product in the market. The ODROID-HC2 is a great solution to make a DIY personal Network Storage Server.
Specifications
| CPU | Samsung Exynos5422 ARM® Cortex™-A15 Quad 2.0GHz/Cortex™-A7 Quad 1.4GHz |
| DRAM Memory | 2Gbyte LPDDR3 RAM PoP (750Mhz, 12GB/s memory bandwidth, 2x32bit bus) |
| GPU | Mali™-T628 MP6 OpenGL ES 3.1 / 3.0 / 2.0 / 1.1 and OpenCL 1.2 Full profile |
| HDD / SSD SATA interface | JMicron JMS578 USB 3.0 to SATA Bridge with UAS capability to archive over ~300MB/sec transter speed 3.5inch or 2.5inch HDD/SSD can be installed. Some HGST/WD HDD mechanical holes are not compatible with HC2. |
| Micro-SD Slot | UHS-1 compatible micro-SD slot up to 128GB/SDXC |
| USB2.0 Host | HighSpeed USB standard A type connector x 1 port |
| LEDs | Power, System-status, SATA-status |
| Gbit Ethernet LAN | 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet with RJ-45 Jack ( Auto-MDIX support) |
| Power Input | DC Barrel Jack Socket 5.5/21.mm for 11~13 Volt input (12V/2A Power supply is recommended) |
| System Software | Ubuntu 16.04 + OpenCL on Linux Kernel 4.14 LTS Debian, DietPi, OMV and other Linux distributions are available too. Full source code is accessible via our Github. |
| Size | 197 x 115 x 42 mm (weight: 361gram) |
For more information and technical details about the ODROID-HC2, please visit the ODROID_HC2 product page at http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G151505170472.
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