Microcontroller Unit Local Area Network @ H.A.C.K.

Purpose

The MULAN makes it possible to connect lightweight projects to a network (and possibly the Internet) using a low-cost solution. When multiple nearby projects require network connectivity (such as infrastructure elements in a hackerspace), it's a common solution to equip all the devices with wired or wireless Ethernet connectivity, which causes financial and physical overhead. The aim of this project is to create a microcontroller-friendly low-cost local network that can be easily interfaced with, while providing Internet access to any project that needs it.

Implementation

• The lowest level of the network will be a 1-wire bus, which requires only two wires for data connectivity and power supply for so-called parasitic devices.
• The translation between the TCP/IP networks will be done using a Linksys WRT54GL router running OpenWRT. Latter is preferred because it runs on the router we have, and it supports OWFS. It's also easily and thoroughly extensible, so it'll be easy to extend the functionality of "dumb" 1-wire components with a little code written in C and/or Shell running on the router.
• Although the Arduino library supports 1-wire, it only considers Arduino as the master, so we'll need a 1-wire slave code for AVR.
• The maximal length of the cabling is yet unknown, we'll experiment with various setups before going live with the project.

Parts needed

• Linksys WRT54G - DONE
• DS2480 B - should arrive on 2011-11-02