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Anonymous delivers. Please have exact change.

in between and arduino are these ethernet jacks with embedded linux

http://deviceguru.com/ethernet-connector-contains-linux-server/
http://www.lantronix.com/device-networking/embedded-device-servers/xport.html

both have a little GPIO
either way it's about $200-300 to get a development kit and a device, and roughly $50/unit in Qty 1,000

Which means that you don't have any limitations you have with IPv4 while hosting stuff

It also means that ISPs can now charge you per computer, instead of per IP (that you then NAT to cover your whole house.)

If your router supports IPv6 of course

I have three routers, none of them support IPv6, and without specifically searching I don't know any that do (except Airport.) Often it's hard to tell even holding the box in hands at the store.

I don't think that network appliances are the problem.

Unless, of course, you have such appliances. There are millions of devices that are IPv4-only. Support for IPv6 just started, and there is zero chance that earlier products will be upgraded (they are out of warranty by now.)

Things like mobile devices (for which IPv6 would be great)

Mobile devices (cell phones) are self-contained, so they are welcome to have whatever IPv$x they want. These devices are not a problem, and they indeed benefit from IPv6. However everyone else, industrial and residential PC and gadget users, will be in need of some serious 6 to 4 bridging. There are just too many embedded devices which are IPv4 only *and* out of maintenance. We also should remember that majority of network-aware applications are IPv4 only. This is even more true in niche, expensive applications, those that use networked license servers, for example. In their market even if a newer app is available and supports IPv6 you have to buy it again; support on that level is not free.

Interesting device called the Lantronix XPort Pro. Claims to be the world's smallest linux network server. Don't know if it's functional enough to fit your needs. I love the Sheeva(mentioned numerous times earlier) and would be hard pressed to trade it in.

And then if you don't need to add tat much capability, the Lantronix X-port modules are nice. Very handy when you want to add web functionality to something with a simple serial interface or simple i/o.

There are both software and hardware solutions that do similar things already.

(Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with either company, but have used some of both company's techonology at work.)

We don't need any more bloody protocols, thanks!

We've got USB and we've got gigabit ethernet and we've got 802.11 (and psuedo-802.11n) and we've got Bluetooth. If that's not enough, there's still multiple variations of Firewire, SCSI, and fibre-channel.

Tell me: In what way is this UWB mumbo-jumbo superior to a networked USB port and a fast standards-based wireless network connection?

Just curious.

So far, all of the USB-over-Ethernet devices I've found support only bulk and interrupt transfers, not isochronous transfers. That means no USB audio devices, and no cameras. (Some of them mention "digital camera" support, by which they mean "mount the card as mass storage or use PTP", not live viewfinder mode.) Several vendors specifically point out "in this firmware release", leading me to suspect that they plan to add isochronous support in the future. Except these products have been out for years and no such update has happened.

That's a shame, because a pile of cheap webcams at the end of such a device would be ideal for home security, machine vision on a tethered robot, and lots of other applications. Being able to pass USB data over a wifi link (using the integrated wifi in a laptop) would mean one less jack to snap off the motherboard. Looks like it's just not meant to be.

I should note: The USB-over-Cat-5 (or USB-over-fiber) devices DO support all types of transfers, because they're working at layer 1, just boosting the USB signal so it'll survive a few extra feet of UTP wiring. It's only the higher level devices, which wrap USB frames in Ethernet frames or IP packets, that can't support the stringent timing requirements of isochronous transfers.

I saw this at the Embedded systems show in the UK last month

http://www.lantronix.com/device-networking/embedde d-device-servers/xport.html

I haven't seen an ethernet solution smaller than this. Plenty of 'play' IP implementations, using slip, but not ethernet.

Mike.

XPort product page with lots of marketing spiel

You won't run Linux on it, because it's a 16-bit 8086 clone inside with 256kB RAM and 512kB flash, but if you want something to provide a quick-and-easy ethernet interface to a piece of development hardware, it's ideal. I suspect it may be a bit expensive, though (no prices available).

There are some other similar devices from the same manufacturer --- among them is the WiPort, which is much the same thing as the XPort but uses 802.11b...

What you're probably after is an XPort in a box with a battery. These devices use 3.3V, have a full TCP/IP stack, a web server, some flash memory, all somehow shoehorned into an RJ45 connector. Yep that's right, the thing is about the size of an RJ45 connector! If it runs at 3V you could probably run it off a 3V lithium battery, of not then use 6V with a 3.3V low power regulator.

These retail for around $30 in bulk, with a bit of digging you should be able to get one for less than $50 I'd think...

With a switch, battery, regulator and heatshrink around it, it will still be quite small enough to lose easily :-)

hth,
Ben

How about innovation like, oh, say, a complete web server inside an RJ45 jack?

http://www.lantronix.com/device-networking/embedde d-device-servers/xport.html

Guess the parent poster hasn't heard about them, nor the handful of companies that are producing single-chip web interfaces.

The original story is a fun garage hack, mostly for the basic engineering chutzpa (Why build it when you can buy a single, small IC that does all of this and more? Because it was fun!), but a technical advance it is not.

Not 100 Mhz, but 10 MHz. Anyone ever seen a 186 running above that?
Dude, look here

DTni-EX max. clock is 115MHz. (the chip used in WiPort)

And this datasheet implies the XPort runs at 48 and/or 88MHz.

Also, I am not sure of the total flash, but I know that it only had 16 "slots" available to the user, each of which is under 10k.

XPort has 512KB (see the freakin datasheets), WiPort has 2 or 4MB (as I said).

So what's that XPort doing on your desk? It sounds like it's a mysterious device to you.

Not 100 Mhz, but 10 MHz. Anyone ever seen a 186 running above that?
Dude, look here

DTni-EX max. clock is 115MHz. (the chip used in WiPort)

And this datasheet implies the XPort runs at 48 and/or 88MHz.

Also, I am not sure of the total flash, but I know that it only had 16 "slots" available to the user, each of which is under 10k.

XPort has 512KB (see the freakin datasheets), WiPort has 2 or 4MB (as I said).

So what's that XPort doing on your desk? It sounds like it's a mysterious device to you.

I have forgotten the exact specs, so don't troll me for getting something wrong, but the XPort has a 386 processor at ~10 Mhz, only 2k of RAM, and something like 64k of Flash available to the user. It ran a barebones operating system that couldn't really do that much, besides host small HTML pages and monitor a serial port for activity.

The XPort and WiPort have a 186-like CPU that runs at 100MHz. 256K of RAM, and 2M or 4M of Flash. So yeah, you were way off, and all this stuff is available right on their website

The OS runs a TCP/IP stack, which HTTP/Telnet servers. Lantronix WILL provide you information to run your own OS on it, if you like.

btw. I have a WiPort dev. kit sitting right here on my desk.

Lantronix also has a similar product called the XPort. It's an embedded system in an ethernet jack with a serial port out the other end. Doesn't run linux as far as I know, but it's x86-based so a port should be easy if you can get the necessary information out of them.

I have been using the Kaveman for quite some time now. My organization recently got a similar kvm from Lantronix . The nice features about these boxes is you can access them via local console, VNC, or web browser. I suppose if you need a headless KVM that will work with a laptop, you could just connect the NIC on the kvm to the NIC on your laptop. Another nice feature is the use of non-proprietary cables.

So apparently someone with a Lantronix bias, or an anti-Digi bias, has moderated the reply mentioning the Digi Connect ME out of sight, which is a direct competitor to the Lantronix XPort.

Now why would anyone do that? Maybe it's time for me to finally check out this meta-moderation thingy... yeah, I'm a lazy lurker.

It sounds like a good title to have around, I will probably buy it just for that reason.

However, if the device or embedded system you're working on is already designed and your goal is to network-enable it, what do you guys turn to? From what I've seen around, Lantronix XPort is a good option for cheap embedded device servers, but what else is available?

I have been very eager to try some projects with the XPort from Lantronix. It's technically not single chip but really it's about as close as you can get for what it does. It fits in an ethernet hood, so it's small enough to put into most anything that needs ethernet. Very cool little gadget...

~GoRK

I've used a couple of other Lantronix products, ten UDS-10's and a MSS100 and ethernet enabled our own Dynet(TM) serial (RS-485) devices to allow us to control ten bus stations here in Brisbane, Australia. We had the Dynalite devices already installed for some time as stand-alone stations, being controlled by network timeclocks which are able to send out network messages to turn lights (big-ass ones!) on and off at will. The stations already were connected via fibre ethernet for CCTV functionality and other things, once we added a UDS-10 to each station as an ethernet to serial tranceiver, we added an MSS100, built up a routing table to the statically assigned IP's used by the UDS-10's and now we can access all stations from the one central control point via software - being able to switch on mebbe 50 channels of 10A per channel lights (big-ass) and *see* the lights come on via the CCTV system after a mouse click, knowing those lights are some 18km away is cool. I can telnet into the UDS-10's or just point a browser at them to change settings... however once it's done, it all happens via serial Dynet commands as far as we're concerned. No link on their website to say this is in place because it's not completely finished yet... but it's been working (almost) faultlessly since just before Christmas 2002. If they had internet access to their LAN which wasn't firewalled off, heck, I could VNC into their server remotely and cheerfully start playing tic-tac-toe with a LOT of amperes, might be an amusing thing to do on a nice clear, but dark, summers night while wirelessly connected with my laptop sitting on a suitable vantage point so I could see ALL ten stations. 'Course I'd never even *think* of doing such a thing. Cheers, The TonkMasta.

I've used a couple of other Lantronix products, ten UDS-10's and a MSS100 and ethernet enabled our own Dynet(TM) serial (RS-485) devices to allow us to control ten bus stations here in Brisbane, Australia. We had the Dynalite devices already installed for some time as stand-alone stations, being controlled by network timeclocks which are able to send out network messages to turn lights (big-ass ones!) on and off at will. The stations already were connected via fibre ethernet for CCTV functionality and other things, once we added a UDS-10 to each station as an ethernet to serial tranceiver, we added an MSS100, built up a routing table to the statically assigned IP's used by the UDS-10's and now we can access all stations from the one central control point via software - being able to switch on mebbe 50 channels of 10A per channel lights (big-ass) and *see* the lights come on via the CCTV system after a mouse click, knowing those lights are some 18km away is cool. I can telnet into the UDS-10's or just point a browser at them to change settings... however once it's done, it all happens via serial Dynet commands as far as we're concerned. No link on their website to say this is in place because it's not completely finished yet... but it's been working (almost) faultlessly since just before Christmas 2002. If they had internet access to their LAN which wasn't firewalled off, heck, I could VNC into their server remotely and cheerfully start playing tic-tac-toe with a LOT of amperes, might be an amusing thing to do on a nice clear, but dark, summers night while wirelessly connected with my laptop sitting on a suitable vantage point so I could see ALL ten stations. 'Course I'd never even *think* of doing such a thing. Cheers, The TonkMasta.

I briefly lead the software development effort for this chip at Lantronix, the heart of their XPort product. It's just a 186 with a bunch of I/O modules grafted onto it. Problem is, there's no place for a 16-bit chip in the embedded market right now. The thing costs $20-$25 and barely outperforms a $5-$10 8-bit CPU, whereas you can buy a 32-bit RISC powerhouse like the AMD Alchemy for the same price. Lantronix just got stuck with a bunch of bad technology, and it's trying to unload it with an overpiced product.

According to their website here: http://www.lantronix.com/news/pr/2003/02-24-xport. html they are available in single unit quantities for $49.00.

This is the result of a quick googleing. Have you looked at this type of product? http://www.lantronix.com/products/nts/ntpe1_tr1/in dex.html

I've got a couple of these Lantronix MPS servers and they work great. Support for LPD, AppleTalk, and LanManager. All your network printing needs in one tiny little device.

And no, I don't work for them, I'm just a very happy customer.

P.S. I just noticed on my preview page the aqua-colored 3d-ish looking gradient bars instead of normal slashdot green. I don't like them.

I use the Lantronix CoBox E1.

It's relatively inexpensive (~$1500 w/GPS antenna and cable last time I checked) and seems to work well.

The best way to set this particular box up is to have ntp running on a regular server, and have that server get it's updates from this box while other clients get their update from the server. This unit doesn't seem to scale well to provide a time source for a lot of clients.
If you're really paranoid, you could simultaneously set up a system to check NIST signals for time and then let GPS and NIST duke it out in your ntp server.

I've been looking into embedding a few things and came across the Lantronix embeddable CoBox Micro device server. See the big picture. That nifty little gizmo redirects ethernet traffic to a serial port.

Now if you happen to have a Scenix PLC with the TCP/IP stack software (a free download) for it, you can bolt the serial UART to the back of the ethernet port and you now have a package that talks true TCP/IP and can serve web pages or send e-mail right through your ethernet network.

Last time I looked, the Scenix kit was about $150 (programmer, software, cables, power supply...) from Parallax, Inc. and the CoBox was about $200 in single unit quantities. Figure $8 for a Scenix PLC (chip only) and about $20 worth of green board from the Shack and you've spent less than $250 for an embedded system.

Going hog wild, you can pick up a LCD+keypad from Scott Edwards Electronics for $120, and a keypad from Parallax for $20, and you're up to $400.

Can your front door serve a web page that tells you who and when came through the door? Mine can!

Just playing... ;-)

I've been looking into embedding a few things and came across the Lantronix embeddable CoBox Micro device server. See the big picture. That nifty little gizmo redirects ethernet traffic to a serial port.

Now if you happen to have a Scenix PLC with the TCP/IP stack software (a free download) for it, you can bolt the serial UART to the back of the ethernet port and you now have a package that talks true TCP/IP and can serve web pages or send e-mail right through your ethernet network.

Last time I looked, the Scenix kit was about $150 (programmer, software, cables, power supply...) from Parallax, Inc. and the CoBox was about $200 in single unit quantities. Figure $8 for a Scenix PLC (chip only) and about $20 worth of green board from the Shack and you've spent less than $250 for an embedded system.

Going hog wild, you can pick up a LCD+keypad from Scott Edwards Electronics for $120, and a keypad from Parallax for $20, and you're up to $400.

Can your front door serve a web page that tells you who and when came through the door? Mine can!

Just playing... ;-)

I've been looking into embedding a few things and came across the Lantronix embeddable CoBox Micro device server. See the big picture. That nifty little gizmo redirects ethernet traffic to a serial port.

Now if you happen to have a Scenix PLC with the TCP/IP stack software (a free download) for it, you can bolt the serial UART to the back of the ethernet port and you now have a package that talks true TCP/IP and can serve web pages or send e-mail right through your ethernet network.

Last time I looked, the Scenix kit was about $150 (programmer, software, cables, power supply...) from Parallax, Inc. and the CoBox was about $200 in single unit quantities. Figure $8 for a Scenix PLC (chip only) and about $20 worth of green board from the Shack and you've spent less than $250 for an embedded system.

Going hog wild, you can pick up a LCD+keypad from Scott Edwards Electronics for $120, and a keypad from Parallax for $20, and you're up to $400.

Can your front door serve a web page that tells you who and when came through the door? Mine can!

Just playing... ;-)

Charles Spurgeon's Ethernet Web Site

Jason Schwarz Ethernet Tutorial

Lantronix Networking Tutorials

You might also try typing "ethernet tutorial" or somesuch in your favorite web search engine. Hope this helps!

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