Ethernet With ColdFire V2

[EthernetHelp]

Hi, i am just starting with ethernet on ColdFire. Is there any documentation about the C functions to deal with the ethernet port? Is it possible to use it with no OS? I got the example with NicheLite but if i understood correctly it is running with a OS. Do you know if i will need a OS to use NicheLite Stack? How about using the WebServer? After installing the CodeWarrior, where are praced the ethernet functions?

OFFTOPIC (I CHOSE THIS ALIS BY MISTAKE... IS THERE ANY WAY TO CHANGE IT?????)

Thank you!

[vier_kuifjes]

Maybe look into FNET, I believe it runs without OS.

https://community.freescale.com/thread/57196

[EthernetHelp]

Hey, thank you, that might help a lot. Any experience with that stack? Is it reliable? Any further comment? ç

And back to NicheLite, is it possible to use it with no OS?

PS: Is there any way to change my nick at this forum?

Thank you!

[Kopone]

"Any experience with that stack? Is it reliable? Any further comment?"

Regarding FNET, I'd like to add that I tried several stacks (MQX, uIP and lwIP) and this one actually turned out to be the most reliable of them. Havent had any problems with it so far (whereas the other stacks didnt survive a few quick reload clicks in the browser with the demo projects running).

Regards,

 Sven

[ChrisJohns]

Hi Sven,

I just looked at the FNET stack and I was wondering how you and other users handle the GPL license when embedding closed source code ?

For RTEMS GPL and LGPL code is not allowed unless it contains an exception clause similar to the one found in libgcc in GCC.

[butok]

Hi Chris,

>>I was wondering how you and other users handle the GPL license

The FNET stack is LGPL.

It means, that ONLY changes/fixes in the FNET stack source code should be shared with community, what is pretty fair.

You should NOT open your proprietary code and you may use LGPL with any other license code.

(If you still need a special exception clause, it can be added).

One additional bonus: LGPL is compatible with GPL, so you can use FNET in GPL projects too (LGPL automatically converted to GPL). Many people do not know about this LGPL feature ,that is why FNET is dual licensed. So you can choose what license to choose in your project.

Best regards,

Andrey Butok

[ChrisJohns]

>>I was wondering how you and other users handle the GPL license

>The FNET stack is LGPL.

>It means, that ONLY changes/fixes in the FNET stack source code should be shared with community, what is pretty fair.

Yes that is fair. RTEMS is the same but does not use or accept LGPL code. The demands on the user is too much.

>You should NOT open your proprietary code and you may use LGPL with any other license code.

As long as you provide access to the closed source object modules so an end users can use a new version of FNET, link it to the object modules and create a new version of the software. Being able to practically do this is not important. 

>(If you still need a special exception clause, it can be added).

We have found in RTEMS this is the best solution. We use GCC's libgcc license. It does not make sense to rebuild software for an embedded system this way and shared libraries (or DLL) type technology is not used how-ever the users of the code still need to provide the ability to relink the application no matter how difficult.

>One additional bonus: LGPL is compatible with GPL, so you can use FNET in GPL projects too (LGPL automatically >converted to GPL). Many people do not know about this LGPL feature ,that is why FNET is dual licensed. So you can >choose what license to choose in your project.

The libgcc license is the same. We all want users to contribute patches and new features back to the project.

[scifi]

---

Kopone wrote:

Regarding FNET, I'd like to add that I tried several stacks (MQX, uIP and lwIP) and this one actually turned out to be the most reliable of them. Havent had any problems with it so far (whereas the other stacks didnt survive a few quick reload clicks in the browser with the demo projects running).

---

Well, having used the lwIP stack extensively on various MCU's including ColdFire v2 I can say that it is reliable. Maybe you are referring to the quality of the particular ports that you tried out, as those may vary greatly. No-one is preventing you from writing your own high-quality port and fine-tuning all the parameters, but this does require some effort. If you are looking for a ready-to-go plug-and-play TCP/IP stack, you'll probably find that lwIP is not the way to go.

[vier_kuifjes]

I don't think it can be done with NicheLite, although I'm not 100% positive.

Maybe send a message to "butok", the author of FNET. I think he is very responsive.

[J2MEJediMaster]

To answer your other question: No, there is not an easy way to change your nickname in this forum. This is something I have been working on for a long time to change and have not got anywhere yet.

---Tom

[EthernetHelp]

Haha ok, so i will have to live with this nick ... Thank you anyway!!