DeskPi Super6C (DP-0008)

SKUDP-0008

Form FactorStandard Mini-ITX (170 × 170 mm)

Compute Nodes6× Raspberry Pi CM4

Storage Support6× M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Slots

🛒 Buy DeskPi Super6C on Official Store →

Description Key Features Port Definitions Power Specs Install CM4 Flash OS FAQ

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Overview

Description

DeskPi Super6C is a Raspberry Pi cluster board in a standard Mini-ITX form factor, supporting up to 6 Raspberry Pi CM4 Compute Modules.

Per CM4 node: M.2 2280 slot (PCIe Gen 2 x1); TF Card slot; 5V FAN Header; Micro USB 2.0

1st CM4 node only: USB Host A 2.0 × 2; USB Host 2.54 4-pins × 2; HDMI 2.0 × 1; HDMI 1.4a × 1

Applications

• Self-hosted: Host cloud applications locally or at the edge
• Learning: Kubernetes, Docker, Serverless
• Development: Build cloud-native CI/CD for ARM edge infrastructure
• Storage: 6× ARM NAS node or Ceph node

Compatibility

CM5 Not Supported

Raspberry Pi CM5 does not support Super6C. Use Super4C for CM5 workloads.

BPi-CM4 V1.0 test results:

Interface	Compatibility
USB Port 1	YES
USB Port 2	YES
HDMI1	YES
HDMI2	NO
ETH1	NO
ETH2	NO
Front USB Ports	NO
M.2 NVMe SSD	NO

OPi-CM4 V1.4 and OPi-CM5 V1.1: all interfaces NO (CM5 cannot boot at all).

Key Features

• Standard Mini-ITX Form Factor: Fits standard Mini-ITX PC cases and 10-inch / 19-inch rack enclosures.
• 6-Node High Compute Density: Houses up to 6× Raspberry Pi CM4 modules with independent power management.
• Dedicated NVMe Storage: Dedicated M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 2 x1 NVMe SSD slot per node (up to 6× SSDs).
• Integrated Gigabit Switch: Onboard RTL8370MB 8-port Gigabit Ethernet switch interconnecting all nodes and dual RJ45 uplinks.
• Rich I/O Connectivity on Node 1: Dual full-size HDMI, dual USB 2.0 host ports, and Micro-USB eMMC flashing port.
• Advanced Thermal Management: Three 4-pin PWM fan headers for targeted cross-flow chassis cooling.

Package Includes

• 1× Raspberry Pi CM4 Cluster Mini-ITX board
• 1× 100W Power supply

Note: Raspberry Pi CM4 modules are not included.

Software

Hardware

Port Definitions

• 1× DC IN +12~24V
• 2× RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet Port (1Gbps)
• 2× Full-Sized HDMI Ports
• 1× Micro USB Port from CM4 1# (Flashing eMMC)
• 2× CM4 1# USB Host 2.0
• 6× CM4 Activity LED
• 3× Fan Pin Header
• 1× Always ON switch

Power Supply Specifications

Recommended: FJ-SW2025G1904730 — INPUT: 100-240V~50/60Hz 2.0A Max; OUTPUT: 19.0V approximately 4.73A, 89.87W

Startup Order

Pay close attention to startup order — incorrect order may cause sparks at the DC port!

1. Insert the DC adapter into the Super6C DC interface first.
2. Then insert the power plug into the wall socket.

Mechanical Drawing

Block Scheme

Pin Headers Definitions

CM4 Jumpers Functions

LED Definitions

4-Pin ATX Power Pins

• 12V Pin & GND:

12V power input pinout

• Power & Reset Control:

Front panel power and reset switch headers

• Pin Header Distribution:

Full ATX pin header distribution

Connector Notes

• J6: For 9-pin USB (i845D/i845E/SiS 650 chipsets), drop the pins. For 10-pin (i815/KT133), the pin can be reserved — check your motherboard manual:

• J27: Internal production use only. DO NOT CONNECT.
• J11/J13: PoE1/PoE2 — not available. DO NOT CONNECT.

Installing CM4 Module

Align the CM4 with the two connectors on the board and press firmly until it snaps into place.

Install SSD if needed:

Flash & Boot

Flash Image to eMMC

Prerequisites:

1. Fit the nRPBOOT jumper on J2 (disables eMMC Boot).
2. Connect a Micro USB cable from the MCRO_USB slave port to your host.
3. Do not power up yet.

Windows

Download and run: rpiboot Windows Installer

1. Plug host USB into the USB SLAVE port, then apply power.
2. Windows installs the driver automatically.
3. Run RPiBoot.exe — eMMC appears as a USB mass storage device.
4. Use Raspberry Pi Imager to flash your OS.
5. Remove J2 jumper and power cycle.

Linux / macOS

sudo apt install git libusb-1.0-0-dev
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/raspberrypi/usbboot
cd usbboot
make
sudo ./rpiboot

Plug host into Super6C USB slave port and power on. After rpiboot completes:

sudo dd if=your_os_image.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4MiB

Remove J2 jumper and power cycle.

CM4 Bootloader

The default bootloader may be outdated. Configure BOOT_ORDER in boot.conf:

• Network boot: BOOT_ORDER=0xf2
• SD/eMMC boot: BOOT_ORDER=0xf1
• USB with eMMC fallback: BOOT_ORDER=0xf15

cd usbboot/recovery
# Edit boot.conf, then:
./update-pieeprom.sh
../rpiboot -d .

Flash bootloader EEPROM (ensure EEPROM_nWP is NOT pulled low):

# Writes recovery/pieeprom.bin to the bootloader EEPROM.
./rpiboot -d recovery

Troubleshooting

For FAT32 partition issues (some CM3 modules):

sudo parted /dev/sdX
(parted) mkpart primary fat32 4MiB 64MiB
(parted) q
sudo mkfs.vfat -F32 /dev/sdX

CM4 Lite (no eMMC): Flash OS to TF card or SSD and insert into the slot.

Cluster & FAQ

Build a Cluster with Ansible

For CM4 Lite

These steps use Raspberry Pi OS 2021-11-08. The latest OS may not need the dtoverlay=dwc2 config.

Initial Setup

1. Download Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit image and flash to TF card.
2. Add to /boot/config.txt:

dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host

3. Create an empty ssh file in /boot.
4. Insert TF card; connect power, HDMI, keyboard, and Ethernet to ETH1.
5. Press PWR_BTN to boot.

Default credentials: pi / raspberry

Install Ansible

sudo apt remove ansible
sudo apt purge -y python2.7-minimal
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Build Python 3.8
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential tk-dev libncurses5-dev \
  libncursesw5-dev libreadline6-dev libdb5.3-dev libgdbm-dev libsqlite3-dev \
  libssl-dev libbz2-dev libexpat1-dev liblzma-dev zlib1g-dev libffi-dev

version=3.8.5
wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/$version/Python-$version.tgz
tar zxf Python-$version.tgz && cd Python-$version
./configure --enable-optimizations
make -j4 && sudo make altinstall

pip3 install ansible --user

Add ~/.local/bin to PATH, then set up your Ansible project:

mkdir Ansible

Configure hosts inventory and test:

ansible all -m ping

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FAQ

Q: Can Super6C support CM5? A: Only partially. Use Super4C for CM5 workloads.

Q: What workloads can I run? A: Kubernetes/K3S, Docker, Serverless, distributed ML, NAS (Nextcloud, Minio, Seafile), Minecraft, Plex, databases.

Q: Which Raspberry Pi models are compatible? A: All CM4 variants (with and without eMMC).

Q: Are compute modules included? A: No — only the cluster motherboard and 100W power adapter.

Q: Where can Super6C boot from? A: eMMC, SD Card, or network boot.

Q: Does each node get its own IP address? A: Yes.

Q: How do nodes communicate? A: Via the onboard 8-port 1 Gbps switch. Two external RJ45 ports connect to your upstream network.

Q: Do all 6 slots need to be filled? A: No — the cluster runs with any number of nodes. Add more when needed.

Q: Can I flash modules through the board? A: Yes, via the Micro USB slave port.

Q: Does it work with ATX 12V? A: Yes.

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Recommended Ecosystem & Enclosures

To turn the Super6C bare motherboard into a finished desktop server or rackmount appliance:

Component	Recommended Solution	Documentation
Desktop ITX Chassis	DeskPi ITX Case Kit (DP-0010)	Custom acrylic & aluminum Mini-ITX enclosure with front power controls
10" Rackmount Tray	10-inch Mini-PC Tray (DP-0073)	Mounts standard Mini-ITX form-factor motherboards into 10" RackMate racks
Next-Gen CM5 Cluster	DeskPi Super4C (DP-0040)	4-node native Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 cluster board
All SBC Comparisons	Hardware Compatibility Matrix	Comprehensive multi-node and single-board compatibility table