X1016-v1.0 Overview

x1016-v1.0 Overview Product Overview

Introducing the X1016: High-Capacity, High-Speed Storage for Raspberry Pi 5

The X1016 is a four-slot M.2 NVMe SSD shield that provides mass-capacity and high-speed storage solutions for your Raspberry Pi 5. Its sleek and compact design allows for the easy attachment of four full-size M.2 2280 SSDs. With the ASM2806 PCIe 3.1 Packet Switch, you can achieve data transfer rates of up to 8Gbps, enabling the rapid transfer of large amounts of data.

The X1016 connects to the underside of the Raspberry Pi 5, eliminating the need for a passthrough for the GPIO, so you can still use your favorite HATs. It offers versatile power options: It can draw power from the Raspberry Pi 5 via pogo pins using a USB-C power supply, or alternatively, power the Raspberry Pi 5 from the X1016 using a DC power adapter via the onboard DC power jack. This streamlines the power supply process to a single source.

The X1016 is an ideal storage solution for creating a home media center or building a network-attached storage (NAS) system. It allows you to store and stream your videos, music, and digital photos within your home or remotely across the world.

Product Features

Compatible With

  • Raspberry Pi 5B
  • The perfect storage solution for your Raspberry Pi 5 - the M.2 NVMe 4 SSD Shield
  • Supports a total of 16TB storage capacity (4TB x4) with M.2 NVMe solid-state drives
  • Accommodates various M.2 NVMe SSD form factors, including 2280, 2242, and 2230
  • Features an integrated high-performance PCIe 3.1 packet switch
  • Provides speedy data transfer with PCIe 3.1 8Gbps
  • LED indicators in blue display power and drive status
  • Supports operating input range of 9V to 17V
  • Equipped with high-efficiency DC/DC step-down converter, delivering a maximum of 10A to power your SSDs
  • Supports powering via DC power jack, ensuring sufficient power supply without any worries
  • Designed to be attached on bottom, allows using your favorite HATs alongside it
  • Compatible with the HAT+ STANDBY power state, automatically turning off when the Pi 5 shuts down
  • Compatible with the official active cooler without affecting cooling performance

* This product is intended for developers and designed for software development purposes.

* It may have some unknown software bugs with the current operating system.

* Cross-compiling the kernel is required, which takes approximately 1-2 hours.

Known Issues

1. Does not currently support NVMe boot with the existing firmware.

2. Below SSDs are not compatible and cannot be recognized by the system.

  • Samsung PM961 series

To verify whether it is a hardware problem:

1. Mount each drive as a separate volume.

2. Open a second terminal to monitor for any NVMe errors (I/O timeout, reset controller, I/O error, etc.):

Pi@raspberrypi ~ $

Sudo dmesg -w | grep -i nvme

3. Create a 30GB testing file on one of the SSDs:

Pi@raspberrypi ~ $

Sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=. /TestingFile bs=100M count=300 oflag=direct

4. Copy the 30GB file to multiple SSDs simultaneously (please change the path you want to copy it to):

Pi@raspberrypi ~ $

Echo /media/pi/cn600/ /media/pi/spcc/ /media/pi/netac/ | xargs -n 1 cp. /TestingFile

Test & Reviews

Test Conditions

  • System board details: Raspberry Pi 5 Model B Rev 1.0, 4G RAM
  • Interface board details: X1016 v1.0 NVMe dual SSD Shield
  • Operation system: Raspberry Pi OS with desktop (Debian12 (bookworm), 64bit, Release date: October 22 2024)
  • Storage details: Colorful CN600 120G, WD Blue SN570 500G, Netec N930E 120G, Silicon Power P34A60 120GB

Testing the SSD speed from command line with dd

1) To test the write speed, writing 1 GB of data in 10 blocks of 100 MB.

2) To test the read speed, use dd to read our entire TestingFile file generated from the last command, in 10 blocks of 100 MB each.

Testing disk drive read speed with hdparm

Technical Specification

Power supply:

  • 5Vdc +/-5% ≥5A power via USB-C power supply
  • 9-17Vdc +/-5% ≥3A power via DC power jack, 12V 5A recommended

Ports & Connectors:

  • DC power jack: 5.5x2.1mm, polarity: Center positive (+)
  • PCIe connector x1 - 16-pin pitch 0.5mm
  • SSD connectors x4 - M.2 KEY-M 67P

PCIe FFC cable length: 37mm

PCB Size: 109mm x 87.2mm

Package Contents
  • X1016 V1.1 M.2 NVMe 4 SSD shield x1
  • PCIe FFC 37mm x2
  • Screw pack x1
Important Notes
  • The X1016 is designed specifically for data storage purposes and does not currently support NVMe boot with the existing firmware.
  • Compatible with M.2 NVMe SSDs
  • Not compatible with M.2 SATA SSDs, M.2 PCIe AHCI SSDs, or other M.2 non-NVMe devices
  • Older NVMe drives with less efficient flash media may not perform as well as newer drives
  • New NVMe SSDs are not partitioned and will need to be both partitioned and formatted when first connected to the Raspberry Pi before they will be accessed in the Explorer.

For further assistance or inquiries, please reach out to our support team at info@edgecase.shop or sales@edgecase.shop. We are here to help you with any questions you might have.