<p>Decisions of RedHat on CentOS strongly impacted my choices for the minicluster. First of all on the Linux distribution: the roadmap of CentOS is more than ever at the will of RedHat management … which is IBM now. I prefer to switch to a RHEL compatible but autonomous distribution. Perhaps it is a bet but Rocky Linux seems to be a viable choice. At least it will be for the lifespan of the minicluster.</p>

<p>I did not check when purchasing nodes but RockPI-X Small Board Computers (SBC) are not PXE network boot capable. Forums on Radxa (RockPi-X manufacturer) <a href="https://forum.radxa.com/t/pxe-boot-issue-please-help/5519/4">suggest to use iPXE</a> to circumvent this limitation.</p>

<p>Technical information on the minicluster is now available in a <a href="https://github.com/stephanemouton/minicluster">Github repository</a>. It includes the <strong><a href="https://github.com/stephanemouton/minicluster/blob/master/hardware/BoM.md">Bill of Material</a></strong>. The repository will also host DEVOPS code used to setup the cluster and deploy Kubernetes.</p>

<p>After the proof-of-concept, it is time for the real version. Parts are bound together user <a href="https://www.makerbeam.com/openbeam/">OpenBeam</a> structure. The result fits in a low-cost aluminum covered case.</p>

<p>The Rock PI-X have arrived: it is time to build the minicluster! First, let’s assemble a proof-of-concept:</p>