Xerxes carrier boards add NVMe storage, Power over Ethernet (PoE) and OCuLink connectivity for Raspberry Pi and NVIDIA Jetson modules, supporting home servers and edge AI applications.
Rapid Analysis has introduced the Xerxes Pi 2026 and Xerxes Nano carrier boards as part of its Xerxes Home Lab ecosystem. Designed for home servers, embedded development and edge AI applications, the boards combine compute-module compatibility with NVMe storage, Gigabit Ethernet and optional Power over Ethernet (PoE). The Xerxes Pi 2026 supports Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 and Compute Module 5, while the larger Xerxes Nano targets NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano and Turing RK1 modules. Both boards are designed for compact rack installations.
The Xerxes Pi 2026 measures 120 × 40 mm and connects to compatible compute modules through two 100-pin high-density mezzanine connectors. It provides an M.2 M-key PCIe Gen 2 ×1 interface for NVMe solid-state drives, with a microSD card slot for modules without onboard eMMC storage. Networking is handled by a Broadcom BCM54210PE Gigabit Ethernet controller, with optional PoE and PoE+ support. USB Type-C provides power and supports compute-module boot and recovery operations. A separate expansion connector exposes camera serial interface (CSI) and HDMI signals, while a Qwiic connector supports I²C and I²S peripherals.
The Xerxes Nano measures 120 × 60 mm and is designed for higher-performance computing modules used in edge AI and accelerator applications. Its M.2 PCIe Gen 3 interface supports up to three PCIe lanes, while an OCuLink connector provides expansion for compatible external graphics processing units, AI accelerators and other PCIe devices. A Gigabit Ethernet port with PoE support and an SFP+ cage provide network connectivity options. The board also exposes SPI, UART, I²C and I²S interfaces for connecting sensors and other peripherals. OCuLink functionality depends on the compute module, software drivers and available power.
Both carrier boards include a PWM fan connector and support active cooling. The Xerxes Pi 2026 adds dedicated serial-debugging and boot-selection jumpers for headless setup and system recovery, while a power-selection jumper allows users to choose between USB and PoE input. The boards can run operating systems supported by their respective compute modules, including Raspberry Pi OS, Ubuntu Server and NVIDIA JetPack. These systems can host applications such as Docker, Home Assistant, Immich and Open WebUI. Rapid Analysis also provides three-dimensional printable enclosures and rack designs, including configurations for multiple boards in compact 1U installations.
The Xerxes Home Lab ecosystem is being offered through Kickstarter, with rewards starting at US$49 for a package based on one Xerxes Pi 2026 board. Rapid Analysis also provides KiCad hardware design files for the Xerxes Pi 2026 and is developing an open-source management application for discovering systems over SSH, monitoring memory and storage usage, checking fan speed and managing Docker containers. The application is currently available for macOS, with Windows and Linux versions planned.
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