Network

Networking in embedded systems is not general-purpose networking. Frames have deadlines, clocks have to stay aligned across nodes, and a stack has to fit in the memory left over once the application is loaded.

Our courses cover Ethernet and switching, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and the IEEE1588 precise time protocol used where nodes must share a common clock. Implementation on real hardware, including the NXP and STM32 controllers, is part of every session.

The work sits in the details: descriptor rings and DMA between the MAC and memory, checksum and VLAN offload, PHY negotiation and link loss, and the hardware timestamping IEEE1588 needs to reach sub-microsecond accuracy. The courses cover these on the NXP eTSEC and STM32 controllers, with capture on real traffic.