"larwe" <zwsdotcom@gmail.com> wrote in message 
news:1161700865.888450.123050@f16g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>A few weeks ago I posted a request asking for cheap (vs Olimex's MSP430
> boards) EVBs with Ethernet to build a proof of concept and then use the
> design as the basis of a low-volume production run. I can't seem to
> find that thread, but here's a summary of what I decided:
>
> Someone in that thread suggested Rabbit. It is a long time since I
> looked at Rabbit, but I took a look, talked to their sales rep, and
> wound up specifying the RCM3710 core module into my application. This
> is a SSL-capable 8-bit module, very small size, with 10bT Ethernet,
> 256K flash and 128K RAM, 1M serial flash, and it's $32 in 1000 qty. A
> bit irksome that it is 3.3V, but the processor I/Os are at least 5V
> tolerant.
>
> Presales support is good; I won't know how the ongoing support is until
> my customer says "yes" and I start building stuff.
>
> Going this route saves me a lot of engineering time designing the
> Ethernet part and debugging a TCP/IP stack, plus it avoids the high
> cost of MACs in low quantities, plus the MAC address is provided with
> the core module.
>
> The development system is moderately expensive ($700) but this is
> negligible (in other words, I'm not paying for it).

Good to hear. I was probably one of several who suggested Rabbit. I've 
recently had a very similar experience.

As mentioned elsewhere, if you're using Dynamic C, it does seem a bit weird 
to start with. I wound up organising my .lib files effectively as if each 
were a .h file and a .c file, one after the other in the same file. This 
allowed me to organise things the way I ordinarily would (pretending, if you 
like, that file scope were not global in this case), and in theory affords 
me some measure of portability (structurally, at least).

Good luck. Yell if I/we can help.

Steve
http://www.fivetrees.com 

A few weeks ago I posted a request asking for cheap (vs Olimex's MSP430
boards) EVBs with Ethernet to build a proof of concept and then use the
design as the basis of a low-volume production run. I can't seem to
find that thread, but here's a summary of what I decided:

Someone in that thread suggested Rabbit. It is a long time since I
looked at Rabbit, but I took a look, talked to their sales rep, and
wound up specifying the RCM3710 core module into my application. This
is a SSL-capable 8-bit module, very small size, with 10bT Ethernet,
256K flash and 128K RAM, 1M serial flash, and it's $32 in 1000 qty. A
bit irksome that it is 3.3V, but the processor I/Os are at least 5V
tolerant.

Presales support is good; I won't know how the ongoing support is until
my customer says "yes" and I start building stuff.

Going this route saves me a lot of engineering time designing the
Ethernet part and debugging a TCP/IP stack, plus it avoids the high
cost of MACs in low quantities, plus the MAC address is provided with
the core module.

The development system is moderately expensive ($700) but this is
negligible (in other words, I'm not paying for it).