Serial over Ethernet module selection

[xapmanis]

Hello guys, i've read a lot posts here but most of them are old and the links that i'm looking are dead. I need a module to get my pic connected to internet via ethernet, but i would like to use the pic as a server for a website to upload some data with 10/100Mbits protocol.

Is this possible with this module : Nano Socket Lan ???
Or if u like to suggest me anything better

[HenrikOlsson]

Hi,
I don't have any experience with the module you link to but the product brief says

Full Internet Controller mode – allowing simple MCU to use the Nano SocketLAN’s rich protocol and application capabilities to perform complex Internet operations such as E-mail, FTP, SSL, embedded web server and others. It also acts as a firewall, providing a security gap between the application and the network.

And, page 62 in the Programmers Manual:

iChip includes a web server that handles HTTP 1.0/1.1 web interactions independently of its host processor. It allows system designers to build web-based products, which can be remotely monitored, configured, and managed via the Internet using a standard web browser interface.

So, if I understand your needs correctly than I'd say it's possible with the ConnectOne Nano Socket Module.

An alternative, though at a lower level is the W5100/W5200 chip from Wiznet. I've written some code for that, here's the thread.

[xapmanis]

Thank you a lot Henrik, it is not that i didn't read the manuals etc but even i know a lot about the "internet stuff" like pakages,protocolls, speeds etc etc i don't have them clear in my mind and i wanted a more experienced opinion to ensure that this thing will do the hard work !! I'll start working on it and i will make a post with my code and my project so i can help others later.

[mackrackit]

I use the Nano Socket but not as the server. I use it to FTP data to a "real" server and the email function for alerts. One of the reasons I do not use it as a server is it can not be changed from port 80. Many LANs have port 80 blocked or I have to ask the customer to open the port in their firewall, or any port for that matter, which sometimes becomes troublesome. Sending the data to an outside server solves the port problem.

[xapmanis]

Clever thing to do mackrackit !
Thank you for the info, so as it seems ill proceed with Nano Socket. It seems ok for my project, because i want to do data fetching from phone applications and not from any PC that has firewall. So i don't think port 80 will be a problem don't you think??

Regards, Kostas.

[Charlie]

I'm a little confused (as usual). Not that I want to challenge your assertion, Dave, but my experience is that port 80 is often the *only* port open, since pretty much all HTTP browsing goes through it. Then 443 (HTTPS), then the email ones, then FTP and so on. But if I had to design something with a fixed port, it would be 80 because it's basically universally open. Just curious - what classification of customers block port 80? (schools, government, slave labor camps?)

[mackrackit]

Charlie,

I will guess you are behind a router at you home, if you are look at the settings. If you have not opened port 80 or any other port for that matter, they should all be closed. There is an exception with some manufactures that mistakenly left a port or two open causing a security risk.

So

When you make a request to a sever on a port, 80 or any other, the packets are addressed so the server knows where to send the requested packets back to. Your router will do something called NAT traversal to allow the traffic back through to the correct machine.

Lets say you set up a sever behind your router / firewall and you want it to receive request from the outside world, you will have to configure your router / firewall to pass that traffic through to the correct machine. Or place the home sever in the router's DMZ, but that is risky as far as security goes.

Most companies with any IT department worth anything will have every port closed to request from the outside. The one exception we commonly see is the use of a VPN tunnel.