10ZiG 44xx: Hardware 

• Hardware
• Firmware
• Linux

This 10ZiG thin client is a small neat unit. My example is a 4448C Zero Client. These are about the size of the old Clientron U700 and U800 series thin clients. The publicity blurb says:

I think the 44xx Thin Client series were launched around July 2015 and the Zero Client 4448C in May 2016. At the time of writing (May 2018) they are still current products.

A copy of the datasheet is here.

Specifications

Processor
Type    Speed	Intel Atom E3825 (Dual Core) 1.33GHz
Memory
Flash    RAM	4GB 2GB (max 8GB)
Video
Chip    Max resolution	Intel HD Graphics 1920x1200 (x2) ?-bit colour
Ports
Network    USB    Serial    Parallel    PS/2    Video	10/100/1000 3 x USB2.0 1 x USB 3.0 0 0 0 1 x DVI-D, 1 x DV-I
Power
Plug    Input    Off    Running	Coax 5.5mm/2.1mm 12V 2A (Label) 0W 4W
Dimensions
H x W x D (mm)	155 x 35 x 120

I've seen mention of the following thin client models:

Model	OS	RAM (std/max)	Storage
4472	Linux	2GB/8GB	4GB/256GB
4417	WES7	2GB/8GB	16GB/256GB
4418	WE8	2GB/8GB	16GB/256GB
4410	W10IoT	4GB/8GB	16GB/256GB

I have the 4448C which is billed as a Zero Client and came with 4GB of flash and 2GB of RAM.

Power Supply

The unit requires a 12V supply and uses a conventional 5.5mm/2.1mm coax connector.

CPU

Having booted Tiny Core, /proc/cpuinfo shows:

vendor_id	:	GenuineIntel
cpu family	:	6
model	:	55
model name	:	Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU E3825 @ 1.33GHz
stepping	:	9
flags	:	fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts xtopology tsc_reliable nonstop_tsc cpuid aperfmperf tsc_known_freq pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes rdrand lahf_lm 3dnowprefetch epb tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid tsc_adjust smep erms dtherm arat

PCI

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Atom Processor Z36xxx/Z37xxx Series SoC Transaction Register (rev 11)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Atom Processor Z36xxx/Z37xxx Series Graphics & Display (rev 11)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Atom Processor Z36xxx/Z37xxx, Celeron N2000 Series USB xHCI (rev 11)
00:17.0 SD Host controller: Intel Corporation Atom Processor E3800 Series eMMC 4.5 Controller (rev 11)
00:1a.0 Encryption controller: Intel Corporation Atom Processor Z36xxx/Z37xxx Series Trusted Execution Engine (rev 11)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation Atom Processor Z36xxx/Z37xxx Series High Definition Audio Controller (rev 11)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Atom Processor E3800 Series PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev 11)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Atom Processor E3800 Series PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev 11)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Atom Processor E3800 Series PCI Express Root Port 3 (rev 11)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Atom Processor E3800 Series PCI Express Root Port 4 (rev 11)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Atom Processor Z36xxx/Z37xxx Series Power Control Unit (rev 11)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation Atom Processor E3800 Series SMBus Controller (rev 11)
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 07)

Expansion

As usual, clicking on the photo (right) will take you to a larger scale photo of the circuit board.

The case is compact in size so there is little space to fit anything internally that wasn't already designed to be fitted.

Flash: The standard Flash memory is not replaceable. It's a Sandisk eMMC device soldered to the rear of the circuit board. (More on that below). However there is a separate mSATA socket that can be used to add a larger SSD should you so desire.

RAM: The RAM is a conventional DDR3 SODIMM plugged into a socket fitted on the top of the board. The fitted 204-pin SODIMM was a 2GB Aplus Technology part A+NDD31333BL-2G which the Aplus site describes as a DDR3 1333MHz PC3-10600 SODIMM, 256x16 4chips 1.35V. I also tried out a 2GB PC3L part (2GB 1Rx8 DDR3L-1333 SO) from Transcend that worked, so both types are supported.

USB: There are three USB 2.0 sockets on the front panel and one 3.0 socket on the rear.

Mini PCIe/mSATA: There are two similar sockets just below the SO-DIMM socket - the white sockets in the photo. The socket closest to the front panel is raised and what ever is plugged in there will pass over the top of the anything fitted to the other socket. Peering at the board I can see that the upper socket is labelled mSATA whilst the lower one is labelled min PCIe.

I fitted a fairly anonymous 32GB mSATA SSD in the mSATA socket and it was duly found and mounted when I booted Tiny Core 9.0 on the unit.

Other: There is a push button on the board next to the buzzer which is labelled JBAT1. I assume that this clears the CMOS but I find it odd that this push button is located diametrically opposite the point where the battery is connected to the board.

eMMC

This thin client turned out to be fitted with eMMC flash memory. eMMC stands for embedded MultiMediaCard and is the type of flash memory that is embedded in most (all?) mobile phones. This type of memory is slower and cheaper than conventional SSDs. I assume that the 'cheaper' aspect was one the reasons that 10ZiG opted to use it in this particular thin client. This is the first example I've found where the technology has been used in a Thin Client.

Looking at the back of the 4448C you can just spot the chip through one of the holes in the chassis. The device fitted to my example is a Sandisk SDIN7DP2-4G. Google found me mention of a one-off price for it of just over $5 while another supplier has it marked as obsolete.

FYI: With Linux the eMMC device does not fall into the normal sdx mass storage numbering scheme. Looking in the dmesg output you'll find:

mmcblk0: mmc0:0001 SEM04G 3.69 GiB