Ask HN: Anybody else running Raspberry Pis in production?

11 pointslionheart12y ago3 comments

My startup is getting ready to release a product based on the Raspberry Pi. We're using it a controller for a remote sensor network that then uploads all the data to our central servers for analysis.

Is anybody else here using the Raspberry Pi in production?

If so, what kinds of issues have you had with it?

We know about the low write life of SD cards and are working to get around it, but we won't really know how well our product stands up until it's out in the field for months.

What are you using to develop and test them?

I'd love to discuss the challenges with anybody else working on a similar project.

3 comments

3 comments · 1 top-level

angersock12y ago· 2 in thread

Sure, I'll bite.

One of the practical challenges we ran into was powering the damned things in embedded environments--PoE can handle this neatly. Another part was working out if cooling became an issue in our chosen environment...we figure we'll cross that bridge after alpha testing shows how things go. I suspect a small fan and convective cooling will be sufficient, if not a big heatsink built into the case.

We also looked at using BeagleBone Blacks for the same application. The main draw of a Raspberry Pi was that you can replace them easily and they're good enough for an MVP until you can justify developing a real embedded system.

lionheartOP12y ago

Why did you have trouble powering them? No access to regular plugs in your environment?

And yeah, we'll have to see if we encounter any issues with cooling as well.

angersock12y ago

Running power drops, especially when we're already running Ethernet out to the little gizmos anyways, is annoying in our environment. More to go wrong and the like. :)

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