CuBox-i

This simple but elegant 2x2x2 inch mini-computer comes with a minimal price tag and runs quietly and efficiently. Based on SolidRun microSOM technology, CuBox-i models have scalable ARM processor cores, memory size, GPU cores and other options, stretching them from simple to demanding tasks. The CuBox-i comes with either a single, dual, or quad core i.MX6 processor.

The following features are available for all models:

  • Hardware video decoder/encoder
  • 2x USB 2.0 ports
  • Micro SD slot
  • Optical S/PDIF audio
  • The following are the features of each board, with changes highlighted:
  • CuBox-i1:

Single core i.MX6 at 1GHz:

  • 512MB RAM
  • GC880 GPU
  • 10/100 Ethernet
  • IR Receiver
  • CuBox-i2:

Dual core i.MX6 at 1GHz:

  • 1GB RAM
  • GC880 GPU
  • 10/100 Ethernet
  • IR Receiver
  • CuBox-i2 Ultra:

Dual core i.MX6 at 1GHz:

  • 1GB RAM
  • GC2000 GPU
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • IR Receiver/Transmitter
  • 802.11n wireless and bluetooth
  • eSATA 3gbps
  • RTC wth battery backup
  • Micro USB serial adapter

CuBox-i4 Pro:

  • Quad core i.MX6 at 1GHz
  • 2GB RAM
  • GC2000 GPU
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • IR Receiver/Transmitter
  • 802.11n wireless and bluetooth
  • eSATA 3gbps
  • RTC wth battery backup
  • Micro USB serial adapter
Architecture
ARMv7 Cortex-A9
Processor
Freescale i.MX6 1.0GHz
RAM
2GB
SD
Micro SD
USB
2
SATA
1
Ethernet
Gigabit
Wireless
B/G/N, Bluetooth

Install to a micro SD card

Remember this device has no built in storage or flash, U-Boot is on early sectors of the SD card. Replace sdX in the following instructions with the device name for the SD card as it appears on your computer.

  1. Zero out the first few MB of the card to remove any previous U-Boot environment: 
    dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdX bs=1M count=4
  2. Start fdisk to partition the SD card: 
    fdisk /dev/sdX
  3. At the fdisk prompt, create the new partition:
    1. Type n, and press ENTER, accepting default values.
    2. Exit by typing w.
  4. Create the ext4 filesystem: 
    mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdX1
  5. Mount the filesystem: 
    mkdir root
mount /dev/sdX1 root
  6. Download and extract the root filesystem (as root, not via sudo): 
    wget http://os.archlinuxarm.org/os/ArchLinuxARM-imx6-cubox-latest.tar.gz
bsdtar -xpf ArchLinuxARM-imx6-cubox-latest.tar.gz -C root
  7. Install the U-Boot bootloader: 
    dd if=root/boot/SPL of=/dev/sdX bs=1K seek=1
dd if=root/boot/u-boot.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1K seek=69
  8. Unmount the partition: 
    sync
umount root
  9. Insert the SD card into the Cubox-i contacts uppermost, connect ethernet, and apply 5V power.
  10. Use the serial console (CN6 micro USB connector) or SSH to the IP address given to the board by your router.
    • Login as the default user alarm with the password alarm.
    • The default root password is root.
  11. Initialize the pacman keyring and populate the Arch Linux ARM package signing keys: 
    pacman-key --init
pacman-key --populate archlinuxarm


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