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Update compatibility page for mcus #95

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83 changes: 68 additions & 15 deletions compatibility.mdx
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -26,20 +26,73 @@ iroh is regularly tested on a wide range of hardware, from servers to microcontr
|----------|-------|
| x86\_64 servers & desktops | Fully supported |
| Apple Silicon (M-series) | Fully supported |
| Raspberry Pi | Fully supported |
| ESP32 | Supported with caveats |

For hardware you don't see here, or to integrate your custom hardware into our testing frameworks on every iroh release, [contact us.](mailto:support@iroh.computer)


### ESP32 Resource Requirements

We have built a version of iroh which has been tested on ESP32 with very constrained resources:

- **4 MiB Flash / 4 MiB RAM**: working, though 4 MiB flash is right at the limit
- **4 MiB Flash / 2 MiB RAM**: also works in testing

To use ESP32 in production, [contact us for licensing & support.](mailto:support@iroh.computer)
| Raspberry Pi (Linux) | Fully supported |
| ESP32 (Xtensa & RISC-V) | [Supported](#esp32) |
| RP2350 (Raspberry Pi Pico 2, Pimoroni Presto) | [Supported](#rp2350-pico-2-and-presto) |

For hardware you don't see here, or to integrate your custom hardware into our testing frameworks on every iroh release, [contact us.](mailto:support@iroh.computer)

## Microcontrollers

iroh can run as a full QUIC endpoint on microcontrollers, using the same endpoint
IDs, tickets, and protocols as it would on a server. What a device can do mostly
comes down to its available RAM and flash:

- **RAM.** With PSRAM, a device has room for the relay client and [pkarr address
lookup](/connecting/dns-address-lookup). That means you can connect to it from
anywhere, including from a browser via WebAssembly.
- **Without PSRAM** (~512 KiB internal SRAM), the relay client and pkarr address
lookup won't fit. You can still connect on the local network using a long ticket
that includes the device's IP address, or discover it by endpoint ID with
[mDNS](/connecting/local-address-lookup). Browsers can't connect this way because
they don't support mDNS or direct UDP.
- **Flash.** Devices with less than 8 MiB of flash need our reduced-dependency
build of iroh. Common 4 MiB development boards fit with a little size tuning
(`opt-level = "z"`, `panic = "immediate-abort"`, and `-Os` on the ESP-IDF side),
with no custom partition table required.

### ESP32

| Board | Architecture | PSRAM | Reachability |
|-------|--------------|-------|--------------|
| ESP32-WROVER / M5StickC PLUS2 | Xtensa LX6 | Yes | Relay + address lookup |
| ESP32-S3 | Xtensa LX7 | Yes | Relay + address lookup |
| ESP32-C61 | RISC-V | 2 MiB | Relay + address lookup |
| ESP32-P4 | RISC-V (dual-core) | 32 MiB | Relay + address lookup |
| ESP32 | Xtensa LX6 | No | LAN-direct |
| ESP32-S3 | Xtensa LX7 | No | LAN-direct |
| ESP32-C6 | RISC-V | No | LAN-direct |

<Note>
The RISC-V variants (ESP32-C\*, ESP32-P\*) build with stock Rust. Xtensa
(ESP32, ESP32-S3) needs the [`esp` Rust
toolchain](https://docs.esp-rs.org/book/installation/riscv-and-xtensa.html).
The ESP32-P4 has no radio of its own. WiFi comes from an ESP32-C6 companion
over ESP-Hosted.
</Note>

You'll find working firmware for every variant above, along with a desktop CLI
and browser (WebAssembly) client, in
[iroh-esp32-examples](https://github.com/n0-computer/iroh-esp32-examples).
For a complete example, see
[iroh-smart-fan](https://github.com/n0-computer/iroh-smart-fan): a PSRAM ESP32
that reads a temperature sensor and drives a fan over [irpc](/protocols/rpc),
with controls available from a terminal or browser.

### RP2350: Pico 2 and Presto

iroh also runs on the RP2350, found in the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 and the [Pimoroni
Presto](https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/presto) (RP2350B, RM2 radio, 8 MiB
PSRAM). Relay and address lookup are enabled, so you can connect to these boards
from anywhere.

These chips don't yet have an upstream Rust `std` target, so we built one. It
uses nightly Rust with a custom Cortex-M33 target, the Pico SDK for startup, USB,
and the radio, FreeRTOS for threads, newlib, and lwIP for networking. iroh builds
on top without modification.

To use a microcontroller in production, [contact us for licensing, support, and
access to the Pico/Presto examples.](mailto:support@iroh.computer)

## Network Transports

Expand All @@ -52,4 +105,4 @@ To use ESP32 in production, [contact us for licensing & support.](mailto:support
| Tor | [Yes](/transports/tor) |
| Nym | [Yes](/transports/nym) |

If there is a transport you need that is not listed, [contact us.](mailto:support@iroh.computer)
If there is a transport you need that is not listed, [contact us.](mailto:support@iroh.computer)
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