Overview

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is a protocol family that is used world-wide as the de facto standard for network communications between user processes. TCP/IP is a collection of protocols that include TCP, IP, UDP, ICMP, ARP, RARP, and numerous others.

One problem faced by embedded systems that run remotely or unattended is that of monitoring the system's status. In the past, this was accomplished thru RS-485, RS-232, or front-panel indicators and usually required human intervention. Now that almost everyone has access to a web browser and e-mail, the internet seems to be an alternate solution to these problems.

As a designer who must integrate TCP/IP within an embedded application, you must decide what type of internet support you will include. Web, e-mail, and port interfaces are all available to you using a TCP/IP stack. Today there are numerous stack vendors that can accommodate your requirements.