TABLE OF CONTENTS When you re ready to begin designing an embedded system for networking, you ll need to make some decisions about the device hardware and the programming code that will control the hardware. At one extreme, you can do it all yourself, interfacing an Ethernet controller chip to a CPU and writing code to support Ethernet communications and the Internet protocols the device uses. Or you can save a lot of time by starting with a module that contains a CPU, Ethernet interface, and software support for Ethernet communications and Internet protocols. Or you can choose a middle path, such as using a provided software library but designing your own circuits.
This chapter begins by introducing a sampling of products available for networking embedded systems. Whether or not you ultimately select one of the products described, reviewing the options can help in determining how to approach a project.
Every computer in an Ethernet network must have an Ethernet controller, and there are choices here as well. This chapter s In Depth discussion describes the capabilities and operation of popular Ethernet controllers.
As with any project, familiarity can make a big difference in how easy it is to get something up and running. On the software side, both C and Java are popular languages for programming networked embedded systems. If you have experience in one of these languages, it makes sense to stick with it. On the hardware side, if you have experience with a particular CPU family, it often makes...
