Waveshare CM5 Carrier Board Supports Dual Ethernet 2.5GbE LAN and Dual 4K Displays

Waveshare CM5-DUAL-ETH-BASE, Raspberry Pi CM5 Carrier Board

Waveshare has recently released CM5-DUAL-ETH-BASE, a dual Ethernet carrier board for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (CM5). Designed for industrial and embedded applications that require dual high-bandwidth network interfaces, dual 4K display output, and various connectivity in a compact form factor.

The board features 1GbE and 2.5GbE RJ45 ports, dual HDMI outputs (capable of up to 4K resolution), and dual 4-lane MIPI connectors for DSI/CSI displays or cameras. It features an M.2 M-Key slot for NVMe SSDs or AI accelerators, USB 3.2 Gen1 and USB 2.0 ports, a 40-pin GPIO header, and support for MicroSD cards on CM5 Lite modules. Additional hardware includes a PWM fan connector, EEPROM and encryption chip, RTC battery header, and wide 7–36V power input. The board supports all CM5 variants and enables fast NVMe booting, making it ideal for edge AI, networking, and multimedia processing applications.

Waveshare CM5-DUAL-ETH-BASE Hardware Overview

Waveshare CM5-DUAL-ETH-BASE Specifications:

• Compatibility: Supports all Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 variants (Lite and eMMC)
• Memory/Storage:
  • Up to 64GB eMMC (depending on CM5 variant)
  • M.2 M-Key slot for NVMe SSD (sizes 2280/2260/2242/2230, PCIe Gen2/3 x1)
  • MicroSD card slot (for CM5 Lite variants only)
• DisplaY:
  • 2x HDMI ports (supports dual 4K displays)
  • 2x 4-lane MIPI interfaces (22-pin, 0.5mm pitch) for DSI displays or CSI cameras
• Networking:
  • 1x 2.5GbE RJ45 port (10/100/1000/2500 Mbps, Realtek controller)
  • 1x 1GbE RJ45 port (10/100/1000 Mbps)
• USB:
  • 1x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A port (5Gbps)
  • 2x USB 2.0 Type-A ports (480Mbps total bandwidth, 2A shared current limit)
• Expansion: 40-pin GPIO header (compatible with Raspberry Pi HAT/HAT+ modules)
• Misc:
  • Power (PSW) button — long press for hard power off
  • Boot button — for flashing and eMMC burning mode
  • Dual status LEDs (power and activity)
  • 4-pin JST-SH fan header (PWM control, 5V)
  • EEPROM (CAT24C32)
  • ATSHA204 encryption chip (I2C address 0x64, bus I2C1)
  • DC-DC power converter
  • RTC battery header (for external battery backup)
  • USB to 2.5GbE bridge chip
• Power:
  • DC power input jack (7V–36V wide voltage range)
  • IO-VREF selectable (3.3V default or 1.8V)
• Dimensions: 109 × 91.5 mm

CM5-DUAL-ETH-BASE Full Hardware Specifications

As the expansion board is based around the Raspberry Pi CM5, it supports the latest Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm (2024-11-19 or later). It provides full software compatibility with the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 ecosystem. More information about software support, PCIe, MIPI, and fan configuration, and various other details can be found on the company’s wiki page.

CM5-DUAL-ETH-BASE Dimensions

The CM5-DUAL-ETH-BASE with dual LAN can be purchased from the Waveshare Store for $54.99. It’s also available on AliExpress for $93.27.

Images used courtesy of Waveshare.