What kind of system do I need to run 4 Jetson TX2 together ?

Autonomous Machines Jetson & Embedded Systems Jetson TX2
1

Hi,

I want to run different AI codes on each Jetson at the same time. Also they should be able to communicate with each other. They should share their results and decide how to do the given task. If it is possible, what kind of system solves my problem ? I do not know what I need for communication issue ? What kind of components do I need to build a whole system ?

2

Hi Crocus, attaching your 4 Jetson’s via gigabit ethernet through a gigabit switch should be straightforward and deliver ample bandwidth for intercommunication between the nodes. On the software side, you could program the IP protocol directly with sockets, or use a framework like ROS or MPI that can handle the data transport.

3

Thank you dusty! I found a system like in the link but of course I can’t afford that. I think, I can build a small version of this system with the methods you said, right ?

[url]http://connecttech.com/product/jetson-tx2-tx1-array-server/[/url]

4

That server is a nice option if you wanted to scale up to 20+ nodes and incorporate an integrated, managed gigabit switch (without external cabling), however for prototyping you can certainly use an external unmanaged gigabit switch of your choice, and wire the nodes together with Cat6 cables. Depending on the number of ports you want, there are many affordable options that you could browse here:

[url]https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=gigabit+switch[/url]

The 5-port and 8-port gigabit switches are relatively inexpensive, and would allow you to wire up the 4 nodes plus have spare port(s) for connection to your router or Internet gateway, or for a connection to a PC for management and control of the cluster.

Another thing you might want to check before buying is if the switch supports Jumbo Frames (large packet size), so you can transfer larger packets of data at a time (up to 9000 bytes) and reduce overhead.

5

Thanks a lot dusty. That should be solve my problem. One last thing, can this system also works on Xavier and TX1 right ?

6

Yes, since ethernet (and TCP/IP, UDP) are standard protocols, you could interconnect basically any type of machines and make a heterogeneous cluster.