Implementation requirements for Web-enabled appliances - a case study

Web-enabled devices are a synonym for smartness and intelligence in automation. Remote access for configuration and maintenance, total quality management, and enhanced user interfaces are only a few benefits. However, the efforts needed to equip a conventional device with a Web interface are often underrated. The goal of this paper is to show the hard- and software requirements for a Web-enabled refrigerator. The case study is based on an embedded controller with built-in Web server. Internet protocol stack, and 10 Mbit Ethernet controllers. The paper discusses hard- and software architecture and gives a detailed overview of the resource consumption of the individual components. We find that even a rudimentary implementation of a Web interface needs a substantial amount of program and data memory.