The Netduino forums have been replaced by new forums at community.wildernesslabs.co.
This site has been preserved for archival purposes only
and the ability to make new accounts or posts has been turned off.
Did you ever run some performance comparison with competitors boards? Could you please publish some preliminary results about tests just published here: http://www.tinyclr.c...share/entry/597 ?
So it looks like Ethernet is done with the ENC28J60 over SPI. What were the advantages for using that chip over using the on-chip Ethernet controller on the STM32 or using a WIZNET chip or the same chip as on the Netduino Plus?
Netduino Plus 2 firmware uses a port created by KodeDaemon, with contributions by CW2 and the Secret Labs team. It's based on the earlier STM32F1 porting work done by the Oberon team, although we're working to merge in some of the STM32F4 port to get the best of all worlds and would like to give Oberon credit for all their work there too. Thank you to all of them.
So it looks like Ethernet is done with the ENC28J60 over SPI. What were the advantages for using that chip over using the on-chip Ethernet controller on the STM32 or using a WIZNET chip or the same chip as on the Netduino Plus?
I read the same comment on hackaday, which got a nice reply:
The STM32f4 has an ethernet MAC integrated, sure, but no PHY. So you’ll need an external PHY chip, which can be more complex to set up (and even maybe more expensive) than an ENC chip.
Given the fact that you might rarely need to process more than 1MBps on such limited hardware, it can make sense.
and maybe the required pins was taken?, the discoveryboard have used the pins, so you have to remove an part to get the ethernet controller in action.
http://blog.tkjelect...g-external-phy/
So it looks like Ethernet is done with the ENC28J60 over SPI. What were the advantages for using that chip over using the on-chip Ethernet controller on the STM32 or using a WIZNET chip or the same chip as on the Netduino Plus?
There were a few considerations that went into this.
First, by offloading the MAC to the external ENC28J60 chip we were able to reduce the load on the STM32F4 microcontroller. We basically gain a co-processor to handle some of the IP networking tasks which enables the STM32F4 to focus on your NETMF application. The chip also includes memory buffers for IP packets, allowing us to dedicate extra memory on the microcontroller towards your application or towards larger buffers for overall improved network performance.
The ENC28J60 also requires fewer pins, allowing us to deliver more features on the board itself. We looked at running an external PHY in RMII mode (at 50MHz), but this adds cost and complexity and potentially noise to the board design.
The final issue is reliability. The ENC28J60 drivers have been built into NETMF for years and we're able to use one single chip on multiple boards. Networking is a complex feature and by using a single configuration we're able to keep quality up across the entire Netduino product line.
Will there be a serial firmware option like on the original so running USB Client might be possible?---AJB
We could definitely support that. In fact we can probably take USB client support to the next level, since the new USB circuitry on Netduino Plus 2 can force re-enumeration on the fly.
We'll have to take a look at the USB code, to see what it would take to enable custom configurations, etc. But I'll put this on our high priority list.
We could definitely support that. In fact we can probably take USB client support to the next level, since the new USB circuitry on Netduino Plus 2 can force re-enumeration on the fly.
We'll have to take a look at the USB code, to see what it would take to enable custom configurations, etc. But I'll put this on our high priority list.
Chris
Thanks Chris!
So glad that you didn't stop with using the STM32 chip with just the Netduino GO and Shield Base products. I was hoping you guys would keep going with updating the Netduino and Netduino Plus as well.
P.S. My Netduino Plus 2 is arriving on Tuesday Nov 13th, and I'm very excited to get started with it.---AJB
Can this board be programmed/debugged using the SWD protocol implemented by some ST debuggers (like the STM32F4 Discovery's onboard ST-LINK v2)? It looks as if the pins are broken out straight to the Mini JTAG header, but are there other issues stopping this idea from working?
Can this board be programmed/debugged using the SWD protocol implemented by some ST debuggers (like the STM32F4 Discovery's onboard ST-LINK v2)? It looks as if the pins are broken out straight to the Mini JTAG header, but are there other issues stopping this idea from working?
Yes, absolutely! Just solder a MiniJTAG (SWD) connector to the 10-pin header and connect your STLink/V2 (using the $20 TI JTAG to MiniJTAG adapter, if necessary).
That's it. This is actually how we program/debug .NET Micro Framework itself.
To flash firmware in-field, just press and hold the pushbutton while plugging in via USB. That will activate the ST bootloader, at which point you can flash the board via USB using ST DFUSE.
That is a good question. There's enough space left that you could actually run one app which flashes and loads another app. Not an overnight thing, but we have allocated a little bit of space for future potential on-chip storage...so that might help along the same lines.
The other thing we may be able to do with this board: local deployment/debugging over Ethernet. There were some issues with the lwIP implementation that prevented this, but it may be possible with NETMF 4.2/4.3.
Chris
Hey Chris,
Thanks for the quick response. I am using html for device control/management so what I am in visioning is a firmware upload page like a home router. So I believe that the on-chip storage is where I need to be. All the devices I am building will have an SD card; is it possible to save the file to the SD then do a flash at this time or will I have to wait till 4.3? I should have my v2 Saturday. Can't wait to see the power! thank God I didn't route the board yet. Is there a new schematic available?
Local deployment/debugging over Ethernet is defiantly going to a nice feature.
Hi Andy,
Here's the schematic for Netduino Plus 2 (from the product specs page):
http://www.netduino....2/schematic.pdf
It would be cool to put a file on the SD card and then load it to flash...but NETMF doesn't support that at this time. There is a concept for this, but it can require losing up to half your flash. It is something that could be added to the firmware though, for sure.
Right now what you _could_ do is put your assemblies on the card and then load them dynamically at runtime. With 100+ KB of RAM, doing this in real-world applications has suddenly become a realistic proposition.
Chris
It would be cool to put a file on the SD card and then load it to flash...but NETMF doesn't support that at this time. There is a concept for this, but it can require losing up to half your flash. It is something that could be added to the firmware though, for sure.
Right now what you _could_ do is put your assemblies on the card and then load them dynamically at runtime. With 100+ KB of RAM, doing this in real-world applications has suddenly become a realistic proposition.
Chris
This might change my product/marketing ideas. So essentially I could sell SD cards with major updates and or develop my board/device to support multiple applications sort of like a PSP gaming device. I can definitely see a huge reduction in costs yet it could bring the cost of the device up. I'll have to research that one. But regardless I like this idea. Is this something you have tried?
Any sample by chance? Don't go out of your way if not I know you're busy.
I forgot you're on the east coast, I hope you weren't affected by that crazy storm too much.
PiCalculator.zip 4.12KB
22 downloads
Is the Netduino Plus 2 Firmware based on 
