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Issue #208 November 2007
Analog Techniques
iEthernet Bootcamp
Get Started with the W5100
by Fred Eady
Are you ready to join the Ethernet revolution? If so, it’s time to start working with WIZnet’s W5100 hardwired TCP/IP embedded Ethernet controller. In this article, Fred helps you get started on your first W5100-based design.
Start | WIZnet W5100 | Build A Development Board | WIZnet W5100 Garage Code| Congratulations! | Sources & PDF
I recently received an e-mail from a reader asking why there were no in-depth TCP/IP stack “how-to” articles. Honestly, I had never given that much thought because I normally forego the formal TCP/IP stack in favor of small, easy-to-follow, home-brewed Ethernet driver packages. As a magazine writer, my first guess on the lack of TCP/IP stack magazine literature is the cost versus interest factor. I have reviewed many commercial TCP/IP stack products and I can say from experience that you get what you pay for. My readers simply can’t afford or financially justify a full-blown commercial TCP/IP stack for their applications and projects. Thus, why should I ask them to read about a TCP/IP product that they can’t afford to use? My second stab at why TCP/IP stacks aren’t in magazine vogue is complexity. Many of you have written articles for magazines and you know that you are limited to so many words per article. It would take a series of articles to explain everything you would need to know about TCP/IP stacks.
I must admit that in the past I have offered up some pretty pricey stuff in my articles. These days, I tend to shy away from super-expensive and complex subjects for the reasons I just outlined. However, when I see something that may be what typical technical magazine readers like you and I are looking for, I’m all over it. For instance, I have found that Ethernet ICs supported by free TCP/IP stacks are very popular with Circuit Cellar readers. I’ve also discovered that many readers who implement single-IC Ethernet devices don’t even use a TCP/IP stack. Instead, like me, they employ simple protocol drivers specifically written for the single-IC Ethernet device that they are deploying in their project. I practice what I preach, and what I’m about to introduce to you is the best of both the garage Ethernet driver and TCP/IP stack worlds. How would you like to solder down a single-IC Ethernet solution that provides the power of a full-blown commercial TCP/IP stack as if it were a set of simple Ethernet drivers? Read on, my friend.
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