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Cheapest Processor to achieve this

Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 2:07 pm
by DemoniacMilk
Hello again!

I am thinking about creating a low cost and (kind of) general purpose platform using an xmos controller because i love the way these are programmed and i find myself not being amused when programming other microcontrollers anymore.

The features i want for sure are:
- ethernet (10/100 mbit is more than enough)
- tcp/ip stack
- webserver (to configure whatever i use the board for)
- TFTP would be nice to upload configuration data that is generated by pc software (havent worked with HTTP file uploads yet, if you guys know a good way of doing this then the tftp server obsolete).

What is the lowest cost xcore controller that fits ethernet+stack+webserver and leaves another tile or at least some cores unused? (XEF216 is too expensive)

regards,
DemoniacMilk

PS:
The user guides for Ethernet Mac, TCP/IP and Webserver state a total usage of:
3 cores, 2 clocks, ~44K Ram, ~7 1-bit ports, 2 4-bit ports and one n-bit port. All pins may be used for the signals needed, as MII interface connections are within spec of any Xcore GPIO.
Is that correct? In this case, anything on the range of XL(F) 208-212 sounds pretty good to me. I got some trouble finding these chips available for purchase, except for XL208-256-TQ64-C10 on digikey (about 14€ a piece incl tax - still very expensive :( ).
Does anyone have a hint on what chips might be best suited and where i could get a few of those for a lower price maybe?

Re: Cheapest Processor to achieve this

Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 10:24 am
by johned
For low volumes, that is probably the best price.
If you are thinking about using 10/100 and an external PHY then you could start with the schematics from the older xCORE General Purpose sliceKIT https://www.xmos.com/support/boards?product=15825, which uses a similar configuration.
Best,
John