Customer Reviews

Embedded Ethernet and Internet Complete

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I wish I had read this book before embarking on my current project. Jan Axelson's "Embedded Ethernet and Internet Complete" gives a great introduction to connecting embedded devices to ethernet and via ethernet to the internet. It would have filled some gaps in my knowledge and saved me some grief further down the track. This is an excellent introduction to creating applications using ethernet capable embedded devices such as the
Rabbit Ethernet Module or TINI based systems.

This book shows detailed examples of building embedded webservers, including those hosting dynamic data and gathering and using user input. In similar detail, the book has very useful chapters on e-mail and FTP applications on embedded systems.

It even has a great chapter comparing a number of different MAC
controllers, that I wish I'd seen before choosing the one I'm currently using (it introduced me to one I hadn't seen before - that may have been better for my application than the chip I'm using). Unfortunately, that's about where the low level stuff stops. I was hoping for some examples and tips on communicating with these MAC controllers in an embedded environment with limited RAM and ROM resources. This book didn't go down to my level there. For those who are interested in this stuff, consider also buying "TCIP Lean" by Jeremy Bentham, which misses out on most of the stuff in this book, but covers the lower levels of talking to the MAC very well (the two books are, in fact, wonderful companions without too much duplication
between them).

All in all, a book that definitely has a place on the bookshelf of anyone considering working with embedded intenet connected devices, particularly those with limited recent exposure to ethernet device and internet protocols. For me, it fell a little short of the possibly unreachable superlative "Complete".

This book does a poor job of explaining the actual protocols and structure of code. In my opinion, you could just as easily buy one of the demo boards mentioned in the book and read the documentation that comes with it rather than buying this book. Cheese whiz! Anybody can read an ad in a magazine for those Rabbit Semiconductor modules, buy one, and I'm sure you can be up and running with a minimum understanding of the hardware or the code in a short period of time.

However, if your goal is to understand TCP/IP and layer two protocols, how to architect your code and optimize your hardware to meet the requirements of your particular project needs, then this book isn't going to get you there. You're better off getting "TCP/IP Illustrated" and even "TCP/IP Lean".

A good summary of this book would be: "1) Buy a pre-built ethernet demo board. 2) Use the code that comes with the board and make the following function calls to that code." You could get the same info from any technical magazine ad and the documentation that comes with the demo board/module.

And one parting thought. Is anybody who is willing and able to code up an embedded ethernet project really in need of an entire chapter devoted to the difference between a straight-through cable and a cross-over cable? Wouldn't that already be in your bag of tricks before attempting something like this?

Recently, I took my daughter to a play about a giant. At turns, the giant was played by an actor and a 30-foot effigy. The other characters were each played both by a person and a 12-inch marionette. It was technically well done: the scale shifted up and down effortlessly.

This book does the same thing, swooping from a description of the bitfields in an Ethernet frame, to the nuances of multithreaded network programming, to details of HTTP, SMTP, POP, and FTP; from making network patch cables (really!) to choosing network-ready embedded processor boards, to architecting whole networks. Somehow, the reader doesn't notice the transitions; this vast range of information is all integrated flawlessly.

The intended audience is embedded systems programmers who want to learn about networking. Someone wanting to build a hardware IP router would find most of what they'd need here, at least regarding the theory and the software. More basic setup information for the specific hardware (including the Java-programmable TINI board) that are used in the excellent examples would have been welcome; some details on assembling a test rig would have let a hardware novice dabble more confidently.

The focus of most of the book is excellent, but the momentum does start to dissipate in the last few chapters; the very last chapter on network security in particular feels tacked on.

I'd recommend this for anyone who wants to learn about Ethernet or IP networking, on embedded systems or not.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Jan's epic ethernet saga.
Having interfaced a Motorola 68HC12 (8/16 bitter) to a
Crystal Semi CS9000 Ethernet chip I can speak from experience
that you should buy vs build to get your web enabled product
out the door. My only complaint is that this book does not
cover the latest "ethernet components" like the Lantronix XPORT
or its clones. These are embedded ethernet appliance chips
and the wave of the future for low cost embedded controllers.

Nevertheless, this book forms a basic ethernet reference volume
I am happy to have on my bookshelf. If you liked Jan's previous
works on serial, parallel, or USB I/O you will enjoy this too!

After reading few pages of the book I felt my self as a fool because of being spent my money on it.



People outside US need to pay a lot more of shipping cost as well as to wait longer. I was waiting for the book very excited, but I got angry when reading it. I would say it is a kind of fraud. The book doesn't cover more than a good TCP tutorial on Internet, however you need to pay and wait for it.



The book is not "Internet complete". The book doesn't cover what internet is. It only mentions some aspects of building a net, but anything else. If you expect to read something about packets, datagrams and so on this is NOT the book for you. If you expect to learn something deeply about chips for LAN, this book is NOT for you. If you expect to know how each layer in the TCP/IP stack works this book is NOT for you. This book is for nothing.



The book is not "Embedded Ethernet". Actually I needed to pay about $50 US and wait 2 weeks just to hear "don't get in troubles, just buy a Rabbit kit, or if you like Java get the TINI card". I have cards for others architectures, but none of them. At this point I hope you may guess how I felt =( . If that is the author's idea of designing embedded systems I have a big problem.



I have some books about TCP/IP and Internet (english/spanish) that are each one far superior to this one, and cover more topics deeply. I use 8, 16 and 32 bits microcontrollers in which I want to implement a TCP/IP stack, that's way I bought the book, but I've just wasted my time and money.



My recomendation is DON'T BUY THIS BOOK. Try instead some tutorials in Internet, and you'll get better results and knowledges.

If you want to build networked embedded devices but aren't sure where to begin, buy this book. To the "sorry excuse for a reviewer" below, who just blindly writes the same review for all of Jan Axelson's books, please at least bother to buy and read the books first before launching a campaign of lies against this author's books.

This book does talk a lot of things. But not in any details about the embedded design, or provide single "complete" embedded system design, from schematic to programming. It does have pieces from many different places, but none of them seems from one complete project. You can not use this book as a "complete" reference to build an embedded ethernet/Internet project.

The proper name after reading through the book should be "Basic Introductory of Ethernet and Internet to the embedded designer".

I would say this book belongs to trash category not only because it is poorly structured collection of scrappy material but mainly due to the fact it fails to fulfill its goals stated at the introductory pages - i.e., to answer questions listed therein in a complete self-consistent manner. If you want to see what the superficial knowledge is about, buy this pseudo-book jumping from one receipt to another, returning back to the discussed subject, and so on. I found too many senseless listings and script examples which are aggravated even more with surrounding text detached from any outlined solid canvas with systematic basic idea.

It is not a manual, nor a guide, and it is not either a handbook. It is something like collections of notes alternated with photos of connectors (half-page each), wires, PCB boards, listings, screen-shots, etc. Diagrams are far away from being real engineering charts, protocols are obscured traces of RFC texts, and screenshots are just to be. I better stay away from misleading examples torn out (copy/paste) from miscellaneous examples out of different evaluation boards.

To get a real clue on embedded internet, I would suggest to buy either the "Designing embedded internet devices" by B. DeMuth at al. (plus, you get an insight into the CAN), or "Networking and internetworking with microcontrollers" by F. Eady (plus, I2C discussed). The first one is mostly about TINI, and the second one - on CS8900 controller. Both are a way ahead in covering the embedded Ethernet stuff. My feeling is that you (potentially) can create/program your own embedded device with these 2 books in your hands but no-way to make something working using this "complete" book.

Recently, I took my daughter to a play about a giant. At turns, the giant was played by an actor and a 30-foot effigy. The other characters were each played both by a person and a 12-inch marionette. It was technically well done: the scale shifted up and down effortlessly.

This book does the same thing, swooping from a description of the bitfields in an Ethernet frame, to the nuances of multithreaded network programming, to details of HTTP, SMTP, POP, and FTP; from making network patch cables (really!) to choosing network-ready embedded processor boards, to architecting whole networks. Somehow, the reader doesn't notice the transitions; this vast range of information is all integrated flawlessly.

The intended audience is embedded systems programmers who want to learn about networking. Someone wanting to build a hardware IP router would find most of what they'd need here, at least regarding the theory and the software. More basic setup information for the specific hardware (including the Java-programmable TINI board) that are used in the excellent examples would have been welcome; some details on assembling a test rig would have let a hardware novice dabble more confidently.

The focus of most of the book is excellent, but the momentum does start to dissipate in the last few chapters; the very last chapter on network security in particular feels tacked on.

I'd recommend this for anyone who wants to learn about Ethernet or IP networking, on embedded systems or not.

este libro esta muy completo en sus temas, se entienden muy bien, el concimiento esta al nivel de aprenderlo cualquiera que conozca de computadoras