One Board, Your Choice of Module: Interceptor with a CM4, CM5, or Banana Pi CM4
The Interceptor Carrier Board takes a Raspberry Pi CM4, a CM5, or a Banana Pi CM4. Start on a CM4 and move to a CM5 on the same board later.
The Interceptor turns a compute module into a NAS or NVR: five SATA ports with software RAID, a 4-port Gigabit managed switch, and up to 16 PoE+ ports (10/100) with add-on PoE boards. The same carrier takes the CM4 and the CM5, so you can start on a CM4 and move to a CM5 later.
Raspberry Pi CM4: full support, every variant
The CM4 is fully supported in every variant, from 1GB to 8GB of RAM. eMMC models flash on the board over USB, Lite models boot from SD or USB, the power button works, and Raspberry Pi says the CM4 stays in production until at least January 2034.
Raspberry Pi CM5: more CPU and RAM
From Raspberry Pi’s CM5 specs:
- A quad-core Cortex-A76 at 2.4GHz, up from the CM4’s Cortex-A72 at 1.5GHz. It brings the power of the Raspberry Pi 5, which Raspberry Pi says delivers 2 to 3 times the CPU performance of the Pi 4.
- Up to 16GB of ECC RAM.
- eMMC (non-Lite models) at up to 400 MB/s, four times faster than previous compute modules.
With a CM5 you can also try experimental PCIe Gen 3: a link of about 1,000 MB/s, potentially double Gen 2, which can help RAID 5 and 6. See Jeff Geerling’s Gen 3 write-up.
A few things work differently on the CM5, such as USB boot and the power button; the FAQ covers them.
Banana Pi CM4: AI on the module
The Banana Pi CM4 has a built-in NPU, so AI inference like object detection and video analytics can run on the module. Banana Pi rates the NPU at 5 TOPS. The module runs its own Exaviz OS build (2025-04-30), still available though no longer being developed; the FAQ covers HDMI and the power button.
Which module fits
| Module | Best for |
|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi CM4 | Fleets that want full support and a long production run |
| Raspberry Pi CM5 | Demanding NAS and RAID builds, with up to 16GB of RAM |
| Banana Pi CM4 | AI inference on the module |
Software
With a CM4 or CM5, start from Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit, Trixie) or Ubuntu (25.10 or 26.04 LTS), add the apt.exaviz.com repository (software guide), and install the Exaviz packages:
sudo apt install exaviz-dkms exaviz-pse-dkms exaviz-netplan exaviz-poe-tool
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and earlier aren’t supported (Ubuntu notes). On Ubuntu Server, SATA and Ethernet work out of the box, and the Exaviz packages add PoE control.
The Interceptor Carrier Board v2.0 costs $79 (compute module not included), and an Interceptor PoE Board adds 8 PoE+ ports (10/100) for $59.