[The Wasp] 28nm ASIC Miner Open Hardware Development Project

[Bicknellski]

RESCHEDULED MEETING

Next Meeting set by Wasp & Hive lead designer for Sunday 20th OCTOBER 10:30 AM (Mountain Time Zone UTC-07:00)

Location: Zoho Chat "2nd Membership Meeting"

Agenda:

1. Update on A1 Wasp & Hive from Lead Designer.
2. Update on Avalon Gen1 Wasp proof of concept.
3. Overview of the opt in for the Wasp & Hive project deadline.
4. Coop membership fees.
5. New business.
6. Set time for a mid-week special Cooperative formation meeting.
7. Set time for next Wasp & Hive update meeting.

Note: If you are new to the Zoho Project pages please update your profile picture and post your profile to files section as soon as possible. If you are interested in getting involved with the project to help with design hardware or software as well as other things like website design then drop me an email and I will add you to the zoho project page. In the near future we will be closing the project page to members who have paid their 1 BTC membership fee but for now we are still open to all while we work out the details.

[Bicknellski]

The Hives (Mother Planes)

* On board USB hub with a port for each blade. Upstream port connects to linux board or box. At least one extra port for potential billboard display or local display & cooling-controller.

* On board 24-pin and 6/8 pin connectors for PC power supply (650-750W) provides 3.3, 5, and 12 V.

* Last blade connector can accept a server power supply (12V only) for higher power operation, not needed when system is tuned for low-power consumption, or when it has fewer than a full load of blades.

* 8 available connection points for the Wasps.

* Any Wasp no matter of the chips will work with the Hives.

* All blades driven through USB hub.

* Stand-alone hive is just a small card with sockets for power and USB.

* Hot swap.

* Linux embedded system to run cgminer/bfgminer bolts right down onto big mobo.

The Wasps (Blades)

* Wasps can slot into mother plane.

* Wasps can stand alone and be stacked FPGA style.

* Wasps are made to fit the Hive form factor.

* Wasps can be independently powered and controlled without mother plane.

[Bicknellski]

About Us
 
The Wasp Project is owned and managed by it's members. Whether we are customers, employees or simply members in good standing our co-operatives acts together to build a stronger community and in the process a better world. We are currently foccused on helping the Bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies by working together to provide solutions for these communities. As a group which decided to look at the community first projects that are open source and we are excited to be working together to bring about much needed change.
 
Guiding Principles
 
The Wasp Project, has accepted seven principles that guide all cooperative organizations:
 
Voluntary and open membership
Democratic member control
Member economic participation
Autonomy and independence
Education, training and information
Co-operation among co-operatives and like minded projects in the Bitcoin community
Concern for community
 
Balanced Job Complexes
 
Our project uses job complexes which are organized so that every member will be regularly involved in both conception and execution of tasks, with comparable empowerment and quality of life circumstances for all. The precision of the balance depends on many factors, and would improve over time. At any rate, no individual would ever permanently occupy a position that would present himself/herself unusual opportunities to accumulate undue influence or knowledge. Every individual is welcomed to occupy a position that guarantee's him or her an appropriate amount of empowering tasks.
 
In essence, the human cost and benefit of work would be equally distributed. We share the work and spread it around throughout the coop. We, as members, are free to choose to work on any project and learn from mentors to help support the development of the project.
 
Greater personal sacrifice made in the production of socially beneficial goods and services is legitimate grounds for greater access to those goods and services if the members agree. This idea allows our members the widest range of teaching/learning internships within the Wasp Project. We learn to be generalists not specialists so that we can better ourselves and others.
 
Areas of Economic Interest
 
As Wasp Project members we are interested in a number of diverse areas related to Bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies. The list includes, but is not limited to, the following:
 
Mining
Mining Hardware
Mining Hardware Accessories
Mining Hardware ASIC Chip Development
Mining Hardware ASIC Board Development
Mining Software Development
Cryptocurrency Exchange
Cryptocurrency Online Escrow Services
Cryptocurrency E-Commerce
Mining Pools

[Bicknellski]

RESCHEDULED:

Note we are having a mid week weekend meeting to discuss the formation of the Cooperative.

Agenda:

1. Membership
2. Bylaws / Articles
3. Formation
4. Revenue / Capital

Saturday 26th OCTOBER 9pm (WIB Jakarta UTC+07:00)

Location: Zoho Chat "Coop Organizational Meeting"

[Bicknellski]

Hope to see a few more at the meeting tonite.

18 members on the Zoho Project so far please feel free to join us.

[Bicknellski]

We will be closing access to members only soon on the Zoho Project page and opening up a forward facing website. Of course we will continue to support this thread so anyone with questions can ask here. Membership fees are 1 BTC and is a lifetime membership. November is going to be a very interesting month and likely at some point in a few weeks where a prototype Avalon Gen I Wasp and Hive mother plane will be tested. We are still on schedule for A1 Wasp development so as soon as the A1 chips drop we could be up and mining shortly after they arrive.

Contact me if you are keen on supporting this project and developing the future Open Source Hardware and Software of Bitcoin mining for the benefit of the entire community.

[Bicknellski]

Next meeting:

Wasp & Hive Development Update

Date: November 2nd SATURDAY 2000h MST (GMT - 6:00)
Location: Zoho Chat

[bigbeninlondon]

We will be closing access to members only soon on the Zoho Project page and opening up a forward facing website. Of course we will continue to support this thread so anyone with questions can ask here. Membership fees are 1 BTC and is a lifetime membership. November is going to be a very interesting month and likely at some point in a few weeks where a prototype Avalon Gen I Wasp and Hive mother plane will be tested. We are still on schedule for A1 Wasp development so as soon as the A1 chips drop we could be up and mining shortly after they arrive.

Contact me if you are keen on supporting this project and developing the future Open Source Hardware and Software of Bitcoin mining for the benefit of the entire community.

Hey Bicknellski,

What does the membership fee entitle someone to?  I'd like to support the project, but don't have a lot of time to assisting with software development.

[Bicknellski]

We will be closing access to members only soon on the Zoho Project page and opening up a forward facing website. Of course we will continue to support this thread so anyone with questions can ask here. Membership fees are 1 BTC and is a lifetime membership. November is going to be a very interesting month and likely at some point in a few weeks where a prototype Avalon Gen I Wasp and Hive mother plane will be tested. We are still on schedule for A1 Wasp development so as soon as the A1 chips drop we could be up and mining shortly after they arrive.

Contact me if you are keen on supporting this project and developing the future Open Source Hardware and Software of Bitcoin mining for the benefit of the entire community.

Hey Bicknellski,

What does the membership fee entitle someone to?  I'd like to support the project, but don't have a lot of time to assisting with software development.

The membership fees have been discussed at the last meeting and this is what we have come up with:

1. Fees cover the costs of registering our group legally 'offshore'.
2. Fees cover the costs of websites for the group.
3. Members are given full access to the development pages for the various projects that are being developed.
4. Members are able to opt into current projects and share in development and royalties based on putting in capital or design work or other equity.
5. Members are able to put together sweat equity proposals to subsidize capital investment if you do not have BTC / USD or design skills.
6. Members can offer up alternative ways to support projects other than software / hardware design.
7. Members are able to get mentoring from more knowledgeable members in the cooperative. Members want to share knowledge.
8. Membership fees do not go to project development.
9. Members will be able to purchase preferred shares in the group when they become available.

We are currently discussing the bylaws and future capitalization plans for the group. We are keen on share offerings when we have a few projects completed and generating some returns for our members. Open Source Hardware and Software is the goal but if we are all putting in time, effort and capital we also need to look at ways to at least cover that effort.

[Bicknellski]

Features of the Quad A1 Wasp (Prototype)

+ Has 4 Bitminer A1 asics, with individually configurable power and hashing rates, resulting in 100 - 160 GH/s per blade.

+ Has front and back mounted water cooling. If oil immersion is desired, the front and back coolers can be omitted. Blades will monitor  
   temperatures continually in any case, and Safe-Operating-Area will be enforced.

+ Has push-to-plug button for safe hot-plug/unplug to protect expensive hashing chips.

+ Has built-in self-test (BIST) that can be run at any time, even while hashing. Upon entering Test mode, normal ongoing hashing operations  
   will be suspended, the suspension/resumption reported to the USB driver, and BIST results displayed via LEDs. A header is provided, for the
   attachment of a serial control panel and display. This allows a technician to take the blade offline without removing it, run diagnostics and
   access the BIST results and the on-blade failure log, with the same control panel that can be used for the entire rack (or a battery-powered
   hand held one just like it, if the rack-control is not mounted).

+ Has two USB configurations - one for normal operation, and one for debugging and testing. This allows a technician to (once he has
   identified a failed blade visually or programmatically) place the blade in Test mode, which automatically disconnects it from the controller's  
   mining software, and allows him to connect to the card with a debugging/test program without moving the card, in order to diagnose.
   Blades can be placed into Test mode manually, with an on-blade pushbutton, or under software control, from the mining software or
   debugging software (can be made invisible to the mining software). This allows for remote management of an unattended rack.

+ Has LED indicators for Blade-Ready/Configured/Operating, as well as for successful share detection. Operational state is indicated by a
   multi-colored LED, so distinctions between Operating/Degraded/Sick/Failed can be discerned on visual inspection.

+ Has an LED indicator for remote blade identification. A tech can tell a blade to blink its ID LED, either from the controlling computer, or  
   from the backplane connection to the debug/monitoring console. The backplane that it is plugged into also has similar remote-visual-ID
   capability. This allows a technician to easily identify one blade out of a whole rack, for servicing or testing.

+ Has power-on indicator LED for each of 3.3V, 5V, 12V, and 5Vsb.


As always we are looking for members to support the development of this project drop me a PM or email. We will be adding the life time 1 BTC membership fee starting this month. Members can set up their own payment plans that include immediate full payment or periodic payments over the next 12 months.

[Bicknellski]

Update we have had a number of discussions with members and we are confident that we will have enough chips from a variety of sources to demonstrate a working prototype in November of the Hive and Wasp. Boards are being printed at this time.

Chips that are or will be available to the EE:

+ A1's ordered. (December)
+ KnC chip. (Now)
+ Avalon Gen I chips. (Now)
+ BitFury chips. (Now)
+ Minion chips. (February)

Given the design we are able to integrate pretty much any ASIC chip into a Wasp.

We will be prototyping 3 Hives.

1. Small Hive for single Wasp for DIY, hobbyists.
2. Mid Sized Hive for multiple Wasps for DIY, hobbyists and datacenters for testing configurations using multiple ASICs.
3. Full Sized Scalable Hive for larger mining operations looking to replace aging inefficient miners.

[aminorex]

How can I find the Zoho project page?
How can I send membership fees?

[Bicknellski]

How can I find the Zoho project page?
How can I send membership fees?

You can PM me your email address and I will add you to the project page. From there you can work with Cedric or myself to pay your membership fees. We are still looking for members to opt into the development of the Wasp and Hive since the project is moving forward and we have prototype boards coming off the fab soon we will need to pony up for our A1 chips this month and we will be reimbursing our EE's for their out of pocket development expenses as well.

[atmclikk]

I've been watching this project with some interest.  It seems to me that this could be the model that really allows the smaller miner to scale out and save money where he can.

Are you considering making BFL chips compatible Wasps? 

I am a Web Developer/Programmer and would be interested in helping out with building/hosting a website for the group if something like that is needed.

[andrei.u]

Great Work!
I am interested in the project!

[atmclikk]

I've been watching this project with some interest.  It seems to me that this could be the model that really allows the smaller miner to scale out and save money where he can.

Are you considering making BFL chips compatible Wasps? 

I am a Web Developer/Programmer and would be interested in helping out with building/hosting a website for the group if something like that is needed.

Duh, I get it - the 28nm ASIC Miner Open Hardware Development Project.  So no BFL chips...  Ahhhh.  Sorry for the dumb question

[Bicknellski]

I've been watching this project with some interest.  It seems to me that this could be the model that really allows the smaller miner to scale out and save money where he can.

Are you considering making BFL chips compatible Wasps?  

I am a Web Developer/Programmer and would be interested in helping out with building/hosting a website for the group if something like that is needed.

Personally I am not particularly interested in Avalon Gen II or BFL Gen I because of the millions of dollars both companies have cost their customers but I am one person and do not speak for the whole group. One could design BFL chips and or pretty much any ASIC can be adapted to the Wasp design. Of course if you have a reel of BFL chips ready to go I bet the EE's would give it a go but we wouldn't ever consider pre-ordering BFL chips or Avalon chips given our collective experience with those companies. We are prototyping Avalon Gen 1's, and BitFury chips into Wasp right now. We have a design nearly ready for the A1s but we are still waiting on Bitmine to drop all the relevant info on the chips. We are keen also to learn more about the Minion Black Arrow chip and their chip data sheet should be coming soon. We even have a KnC chip or two that we could get to our EE's since of few of our members have a couple bad KnC boards.

All the help you can offer and provide is welcome.

[atmclikk]

Totally understandable, just was wondering because I know there are people out there with BFL chips that would love to have a home for them.  I agree though, I have no intention of supporting BFL - just the miners who may have gotten screwed holding a reel of 100 chips they can't get rid of.  I truthfully don't understand the architecture of these chips and the protocols for feeding them hashes to know how inter operative a single board could be designed to be.

What I really like is that it looks like you are really trying to make this modular, which hasn't been a real trend with the big manufacturers (aside from AsicMiner and Bitfury).  Modular means good for the little guy and the big guy.  Its truly something that has been missing from many designs.

Any reason these asic chips can't be fitted with pins, so that boards and asics aren't tied together?  Wouldn't it be nice to be able to buy a wasp and take a handful of A1's you had at home and place them yourself, rather than having to hardwire (some fairly tricky soldering, depending on the chip) the chip to the board, which means logistics can get fracked up due to board manufacturers having to track, mount and ship individual's asic orders as well as the boards they manufactured on their own....

[Bicknellski]

Totally understandable, just was wondering because I know there are people out there with BFL chips that would love to have a home for them.  I agree though, I have no intention of supporting BFL - just the miners who may have gotten screwed holding a reel of 100 chips they can't get rid of.  I truthfully don't understand the architecture of these chips and the protocols for feeding them hashes to know how inter operative a single board could be designed to be.

I am sure if people wanted us to try BFL chips and they had enough kicking around we could have one of the EE's look at them but at this point people I think would be better off doing the Chili or the other DIY BFL design groups right?

What I really like is that it looks like you are really trying to make this modular, which hasn't been a real trend with the big manufacturers (aside from AsicMiner and Bitfury).  Modular means good for the little guy and the big guy.  Its truly something that has been missing from many designs.

I think it is good for the big guys as well if you are in the game longer term you can swap in newer Wasps with the latest chips onto the existing Hive and no need to wait for software to be designed as well. But yes certainly the DIY would have ample room for people to come up with their own solutions.

Any reason these asic chips can't be fitted with pins, so that boards and asics aren't tied together?  Wouldn't it be nice to be able to buy a wasp and take a handful of A1's you had at home and place them yourself, rather than having to hardwire (some fairly tricky soldering, depending on the chip) the chip to the board, which means logistics can get fracked up due to board manufacturers having to track, mount and ship individual's asic orders as well as the boards they manufactured on their own....

We looked at socketed Wasps where you could do that but the changes in chips would make it too expensive and not really practical. A reasonably well skilled person with a reflow oven could bump ASICs and do just that with the Wasps. If you followed the Alten, Bkkcoins and Burnin builds for the DIY Avalon chips you had the potential to do Alten's as DIY kit. Bkkcoins did his pick and place by hand for all the components on the K16 I believe. But to be honest the level we are talking here is the DIYer could come up with their own Wasp design and slot it into these Hives but really with SMT technology you need a pick and place machine etc to do things properly. You couldn't do a lot of boards by hand.

[Bicknellski]

Update from the EE in Seattle

+ Full schematic/BOM ready for review for BitFury, A1 chips this weekend.

+ Firmware is progressing - the 8-bit AVRs are being used to emulate the various target hashers, by acting as slave SPIs and passing the work info to a PC. Right now, we're just reading and writing, but shortly we should be able to pretend to be a hashing chip by doing the hashing on a GPU and sending the results back... will be very slow, but will verify the firmware even before we get boards back.

+ 32-bit AVRs should be in today, and the test setup running shortly thereafter.

+ Please keep pressing Zefir / Bitmine for A1 data - there are a lot of questions critical to the design that Bitmine hasn't answered yet!

------------

Meeting on Teamspeak server will be at 7pm on Saturday Utah time with both EE's and support team. All members on the Zoho Project page are welcome to attend.