Ethernet enabled digital I/O control in embedded systems

This paper presents very simple and economical way to provide Ethernet connectivity to microcontroller based embedded systems. This system uses ATmega328p microcontroller to store the main application source code, web pages and TCP/IP stack which is a vital element of the system software. An Ethernet controller chip, ENC 28J60 is used to handle the Ethernet communications and is interfaced with the host microcontroller using SPI pins. There are several I/O pins available at the microcontroller which are used to interface with sensors and relays for monitoring and controlling operations. Nowadays, Internet has spread worldwide and most of the internet connections use Ethernet as media for data transfer. In industries or in home appliances, most of the time we need to monitor and control different parameters using microcontrollers. Once we enable Ethernet interface to such systems, we can communicate with them remotely over the internet.