Creating a new ARM/AVR platform

[Jacob Mansfield]

On 29 Feb 2012, at 17:12, Liam Proven wrote:
> No offence, but I think that at this point you sound woefully unready
> for a development project of this scale.
> 
> Firstly, you need a list of requirements.
> 
> What is the product to do?
The product is designed to monitor the conditions in a server room, and report data back to a monitoring server at our HQ. it will also use relays to control devices over a proprietary protocol we have developed.

> How much will it cost?
We aim to sell the product for £500

> What kind of power will it run on? Mains, external DC, large battery,
> small battery, etc.
The product will be Mains powered.

> What sort of cooling and other environmental considerations are there?
Convention and fan-based cooling will be used. the device will always be in a climate-controled environment.

> What software and hardware will you need to accomplish this?
We hope to use linux with our custom-built monitoring software

> If you want to use open-source tools, of which Linux is a small but
> significant part, then you have many very important further decisions
> to make before you get to the choice of CPU or OS.
> 
> Such as, do we want to build an open source software stack, or
> something proprietary? Are there FOSS tools that we could use as part
> of our product to minimise the amount of work we have to do?
The hardware and monitoring system will be proprietary, however the linux integration will be released as open source in conjunction with the GNU GPL.
> 
> Unless you are planning something /very/ specialised, the chances are
> excellent that there is commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware that
> will do what you need, and then it is a matter of choosing what
> hardware and that will give you the option of choosing what OS.
We are currently considering using COTS hardware with a cutom-developed add-in module for the advanced features.

> Asking about porting kernels and things at this point is like asking
> "what lengths of rope will I need" when you have not yet decided which
> mountain to climb. You're asking very specific questions about
> serious, high-level, difficult stuff, when it appears that you don't
> yet know where you are even starting from.
> 
> I don't mean to be rude; I just want to warn you what you're tackling.
> It looks to me like you're biting off more than you can chew.
 			JACOB MANSFIELD / Lead Developer
Blue Sapphire Media
email:  Jacob at bluesapphiremedia.co.uk
skype:  jacob.mansfield 

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