Connecting Jetson TK1s to a desktop PC through PCIe interface

Robotics & Edge Computing Jetson & Embedded Systems Jetson TK1
1

Hello,
In my research project, I need to connect Jetson TK1 boards to a desktop PC to exchange data between them in higher throughout than using gigabit ethernet.
So far, I could not find any helpful information on this issue.

Today, I found an interesting article “Low-Power Sensing and Autonomy With NVIDIA Jetson TK1” that introduces a case study of clustering several Jetson TK1 boards through Non-tranparent bridging of a PCIe switch. ([url]http://devblogs.nvidia.com/parallelforall/low-power-sensing-autonomy-nvidia-jetson-tk1/[/url])
This clustering example seems to be a clue to solve the issue I am struggling with.
Unfortunately, the descriptions in the article about clustering Jetson TK1s is not very clear to follow directly.
So I am posting this thread to ask help for resolving the issue.

In particular, I want the following questions to be answered.

  • Can I connect more than one Jetson TK1 boards to a desktop PC though PCIe?
  • If so, what additional devices are required? (for example, PCIe cable, a standalone PCIe switch (or bridge?), or any adapter cards…)
  • Can any one provide me with links to the products available?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

2

Looks like an interesting project. I’ve never used a PCIe switch before, but one thing I’ve noticed is that the article talks about the Tegra K1 as “x4/x1”. There could be an issue that this is not the same as “Jetson”…the mini-PCIe slot has only x1. There are more lanes available on TK1, but not connected as available on Jetson mPCIe. x1 itself is probably not much of an advantage over gigabit. So there is a question to be asked…is the mini-PCIe lane the only one available on Jetson? And would a single lane be any kind of advantage over gigabit ethernet?