RockPro64
- RockPro64 in Pine64 Shop
- RockPro64 Wiki page https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/ROCKPro64_Hardware_Accessory_Compatibility
- no german retailer
- No real support, forum only
- The ROCKPro64 4GB board designated as LTS (long Term Supply) model, PINE64 committed to supply at least for 5 years until year 2023 and beyond.
Pine64 NASCase
https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/NASCase https://pine64.com/product/rockpro64-metal-desktop-nas-casing/?v=0446c16e2e66
Components:
- ROCK64-4GB Single Board Computer:
- ROCKPro64 PCI-e to Dual SATA-II Interface Card:
- ROCKPro64 Metal Desktop/NAS Casing:
- ROCKPro64 SBC, Heatsink, Fan, and PCIe SATA adapter not included
- Please use +12V 5A power supply due to HDDs power consumption
- https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/ROCKPro64_Hardware_Accessory_Compatibility
Software options
Official Debian
- Pine64 wiki: Official Debian
- Debian wiki: FreedomBox Hardware Rock Pro64
- Minimal SDcard size: 8GB (4GB is not enough, the installer stalls during the installation)
U-Boot in SPI
I haven't found a way of booting Debian without flashing uboot into SPI flash. Here is someone who did, but it results in a more additional steps during the Debian installation. Check U-Boot version with serial connection. If it is too old, flash a recent u-boot to SPI. My installation worked with u-boot v2021.04 from the latest Sigmaris u-boot fork release. Instructions: Flashing U Boot to SPI
Flashing steps:
cd ~/projects/hardware/pine-rockpro64/uboot
wget https://github.com/sigmaris/u-boot/releases/download/v2021.04-rockpro64-ci/flash_spi.img.gz
gunzip flash_spi.img.gz
sudo dd if=./flash_spi.img of=/dev/sdd
Connect serial via USB and boot from sdcard, until Wrote U-Boot to SPI Flash successfully.
appears.
Debian
Follow the Pine64 wiki: Official Debian Installer install instructions (see also the README.concatenateable_images):
cd ~/projects/hardware/pine-rockpro64/debian
wget https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/bookworm/main/installer-arm64/current/images/netboot/SD-card-images/firmware.rockpro64-rk3399.img.gz
wget https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/bookworm/main/installer-arm64/current/images/netboot/SD-card-images/partition.img.gz
zcat firmware.rockpro64-rk3399.img.gz partition.img.gz > complete_image.img
sudo dd if=complete_image.img of=/dev/mmcblkX bs=4M
Make sure to no use (guided) encrypted LVM partitioning, since the installation boots, but the USB keyboard is not recognized (as of 2023-08-14, Debian Bullseye).
Monitoring
Install prometheus-node-exporter-collectors
which monitors md-raid:
apt install prometheus-node-exporter-collectors smartmontools
Install md details cronjob:
echo '*/5 * * * * root /usr/share/prometheus-node-exporter-collectors/md_info_detail.sh | sponge /var/lib/prometheus/node-exporter/md_info_detail.prom' > /etc/cron.d/prometheus_md_info_detail
Issues
ATA bus errors
Caused by a faulty SATA controller, fixed by switching to the
JMicron Technology Corp. JMB58x AHCI SATA controller
!
Update: From https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=6932&pid=56075#pid56075:
Like others, I switched to a Marvell-based SATA card, and the issues are gone even at 3Gbps or 6Gbps. I guess some ASM-based cards are crappy (jumpers related ?).