Which ARM board for low power application?

[MReimer]

Hello,

I need a small "computer" which does the following:

- Several times a day a file is downloaded via FTP from a photovoltaik logger box.
- Then this file is transferred via GPRS (surfstick) to a server on the internet
- Once a day a NTP time sync has to be done to update the time on the ARM box. After that, this updated time is sent to the pv logger box to get updated time there, too.

I think this is a very simple low power task which doesn't require bigger ARM platforms which are capable of playing HD videos or something like that.

Can someone suggest a small, cheap ARM platform? I would prefer one which doesn't need closed source stuff to boot up and where always the latest available kernel can be used.

I really like the Olinuxino boards, but it seems like the kernel, used by Archlinux ARM for the iMX233 CPU, is pretty old. As far as I see you still use 2.6 there, right?

[kmihelich]

The current kernel for that is 3.7.2.

[MReimer]

Is it possible to install more "up-to-date" kernels on the iMX232 platform? Is the "archlinux ARM" team able to create own kernels or do you depend on the manufacturer?

Are there known security holes in the 3.7.2 kernel or is it OK to use it for a server application (always on, always accessible from the internet).

[kmihelich]

It should be possible to get a newer kernel in place, I just haven't had the time to get back to this board yet. 3.7 is fine for a server application, though as always you should take all necessary steps to secure the system as you would for any publicly accessible system. System security is only as good as the person running it.

[MReimer]

So are there boards that are more widely used in the archlinux ARM team? Maybe even one which doesn't need a binary blob to boot up?

[kmihelich]

Different boards are used for different purposes depending on their feature set. You should choose one that fits what you want to do the best. The Olinuxino doesn't require a binary blob to boot, unless you count U-Boot, which is used on almost every other board too.