Long term availability fo board?

[KarlK]

Hi,

I'm interested in using A20-OLinuXino-LIME board for a larger project where a long term availability of nameable numbers of the board is important.

Now I found that only very few distributors offer this board. More than this the usual suspects like Farnell, RS-Components and Digikey don't offer it.

So my question: how about the availability and long-term availability of this board?

Thanks!

Karl

[LubOlimex]

Hey Karl,

The A20 processors would be manufactured at least until 2017. Of course, we can and we have already stocked large amounts of A20 chips so even if Allwinner stop manufacturing it we would be good for some time after it is no longer manufactured.

Refer to this blog post for information: https://olimex.wordpress.com/2013/08/20/how-long-olinuxino-boards-with-allwinner-socs-will-be-available-ii/

Best regards,
Lub/OLIMEX

[KarlK]

Hi Lub,

thanks for your fast response. Beside of the availability of the processor: do you guarantee anything for the board itself? E.g. a minimum lifetime as it would be important for industrial usage?

Thanks!

[LubOlimex]

Karl,

From my experience I can say is that the boards are pretty durable and lasting. We have configured an A20 board as torrent server for the Android and Debian images. Just checked the uptime - there is no downtime for 227 days. Basically it never stopped since the initial time we configured it and powered it.

For industrial applications and specific conditions you might consider additional enclosure for the board (to keep it  protected from dust and humidity) and additional cooling (radiator, some sort of air flow control). Remember that the board is suitable for commercial temperature range.

Best regards,
Lub/OLIMEX