Compact 8-Bit Module Targets Internet Appliances

May 21, 2001
Inexpensive Ethernet-based mi-croprocessor core modules keep the price of networked devices down while simplifying development. The RCM2100 series of Ethernet microprocessor cores from Rabbit Semiconductor packs an 8-bit, 22.1-MHz Rabbit 2000...

Inexpensive Ethernet-based mi-croprocessor core modules keep the price of networked devices down while simplifying development. The RCM2100 series of Ethernet microprocessor cores from Rabbit Semiconductor packs an 8-bit, 22.1-MHz Rabbit 2000 microprocessor with a 10Base-T Ethernet adapter on a 51- by 89-mm board.

Many Internet appliances do not require the power or sophistication of a 16- or 32-bit processor. An integrated solution like the RCM2100 makes sense for process control, system monitoring, compact Web servers, and similar applications.

With the core's slave interface, a master Rabbit module can control multiple Rabbit-based modules. The slave interface can act as a master or slave. An RCM2100 configured as a master can act as a Web front end for an array of Rabbit modules.

The RCM2100 incorporates 512 kbytes of static RAM and 512 kbytes of flash memory. The RCM2110 cuts both back to 128 kbytes. Both models have 34 parallel I/O lines grouped as five 8-bit ports and four high-speed serial ports.

A development kit includes the RCM2100 RabbitCore module with an Ethernet connection, the Dynamic C SE software development system, a prototyping board, a power supply, and documentation. The module plugs into the prototyping board. Also, the development system has no run-time royalties. It includes a TCP/IP stack and a Web server.

The RCM2100 costs $89, and the RCM2110 is $59. Non-Ethernet versions are $69 and $49, respectively. The development kit is $279.

Rabbit Semiconductor, 2932 Spafford St., Davis, CA 95616; (530) 757-8400; www.rabbitsemiconductor.com.

About the Author

William G. Wong | Senior Content Director - Electronic Design and Microwaves & RF

I am Editor of Electronic Design focusing on embedded, software, and systems. As Senior Content Director, I also manage Microwaves & RF and I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, programmers, developers and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

You can send press releases for new products for possible coverage on the website. I am also interested in receiving contributed articles for publishing on our website. Use our template and send to me along with a signed release form. 

Check out my blog, AltEmbedded on Electronic Design, as well as his latest articles on this site that are listed below. 

You can visit my social media via these links:

I earned a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Masters in Computer Science from Rutgers University. I still do a bit of programming using everything from C and C++ to Rust and Ada/SPARK. I do a bit of PHP programming for Drupal websites. I have posted a few Drupal modules.  

I still get a hand on software and electronic hardware. Some of this can be found on our Kit Close-Up video series. You can also see me on many of our TechXchange Talk videos. I am interested in a range of projects from robotics to artificial intelligence. 

Sponsored Recommendations

Comments

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Electronic Design, create an account today!