The EXAVIZ Cruiser Turns a Raspberry Pi CM5 Into a 9-Port PoE Networking Powerhouse

If you have been looking for the carrier board that turns a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 into a legitimate networking appliance, EXAVIZ just delivered. The Cruiser, announced on February 26, is a mini-ITX-compatible carrier board that squeezes up to nine Ethernet ports, dual SATA, M.2 NVMe, and wireless connectivity onto a single PCB — all powered by the CM5.

Specifications That Read Like a Switch Datasheet

The full Cruiser configuration includes one 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port plus eight Gigabit Ethernet ports with PoE+ support. That is 802.3af/at power delivery on every Gigabit port, meaning you can power IP cameras, access points, or IoT devices directly from the board without separate PoE injectors.

Storage options include dual SATA ports for hard drives or SSDs, an M.2 NVMe slot for high-speed boot and cache drives, and a microSD slot for the CM5 itself. Display output comes via dual 4K HDMI ports, and wireless connectivity is handled by an onboard ESP32-C6 providing WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and Zigbee — a practical combination for smart home gateway deployments.

For users who need even more ports, EXAVIZ offers an expansion board that brings the total to 16 PoE Ethernet connections.

Pricing and Configuration Tiers

EXAVIZ structured the product line into two tiers. The Keel is the stripped-down version starting at $89, offering the core CM5 carrier functionality without the full networking expansion. The Cruiser is the complete package at $139, including all nine Ethernet ports and the PoE+ subsystem.

Both prices are for the carrier board only — you supply your own Raspberry Pi CM5 module, storage, and power supply. A standard mini-ITX case fits the board, which is a smart design choice that lets builders reuse existing enclosures.

Use Cases for the Homelab Community

The obvious application is a compact network video recorder. With eight PoE ports driving IP cameras and NVMe storage for footage, a CM5-powered Cruiser running Frigate or similar NVR software could monitor a full property at a fraction of the power consumption of a traditional x86 NVR box.

Smart home enthusiasts will appreciate the Zigbee radio for direct communication with sensors and switches, eliminating the need for a separate Zigbee coordinator. Edge AI deployments could leverage the CM5’s neural processing unit for lightweight inference tasks at the network edge.

A Strong Addition to the CM5 Ecosystem

The Raspberry Pi CM5 has rapidly attracted a diverse carrier board ecosystem, and the EXAVIZ Cruiser stands out for its networking density. Nine Ethernet ports on a single-board-computer carrier is exceptional, and the PoE+ support makes it genuinely practical rather than merely impressive on paper.

Sources: CNX Software, February 26, 2026; EXAVIZ Product Page, February 2026