Want to connect homebrew CPU to the internet

Thread Starter

AnalogDigitalDesigner

Joined Jan 22, 2018
121
Ok so here's my problem...

I am building a 16bit CPU/Minicomputer from bare logic, and I want to connect this computer to the internet.

The CPUis similar to an intel 8086, except that it has 64KB of RAM, and the minicomputer itself will be somewhat a PC XT.

What I'd like to know is what are the possibilities here? What kind of connection could I support?

Do I require a full operating system in order to connect to the net, or will a good BIOS do ?

Does anyone know or have used WIZNET?
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
Ok so here's my problem...

I am building a 16bit CPU/Minicomputer from bare logic, and I want to connect this computer to the internet.
That does indeed sound like a problem! Perhaps addressing why you are bothering with this will help folks get in the right mindset.

When you say "connect", I assume you mean you want to do something over TCP/IP? I doubt you'll be able to do much except send pings. I believe the first browsers required an OS and more horsepower from the hardware but I may be confused about the timelines.
 

Thread Starter

AnalogDigitalDesigner

Joined Jan 22, 2018
121
That does indeed sound like a problem! Perhaps addressing why you are bothering with this will help folks get in the right mindset.

When you say "connect", I assume you mean you want to do something over TCP/IP? I doubt you'll be able to do much except send pings. I believe the first browsers required an OS and more horsepower from the hardware but I may be confused about the timelines.

Why am I bothering with this? Oh come on boy........ How about because it gives me more pleasure than heroine ;)

I also want to be able to run a proper OS on this minicomputer. Like Bill Buzbee's Magic-1 computer.

But for that I will need more than 64KB ram. That's tricky! Because I will need to extend my registers from 16bit to 24 bits. And because I have an 8bit data bus, that will add an extra clock cycle per instruction. But maybe that's a good trade off. We'll see.

I don't know what you mean by better hardware. My minicomputer will run at 4MHz and that is enough because Bill Buzbee's computer runs at ~ 4MHz and hosts a website!

Has anyone here heard of WIZNET?

It seems there aren't many souls reading this thread. How sad.
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
Be patient, and consider moving your thread to the computing forum. It might get more attention there. A moderator could do that for you if you like.
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,979
Ok so here's my problem...

I am building a 16bit CPU/Minicomputer from bare logic, and I want to connect this computer to the internet.

The CPUis similar to an intel 8086, except that it has 64KB of RAM, and the minicomputer itself will be somewhat a PC XT.

What I'd like to know is what are the possibilities here? What kind of connection could I support?

Do I require a full operating system in order to connect to the net, or will a good BIOS do ?

Does anyone know or have used WIZNET?
The O/S and BIOS really don't have anything to do with it (though they might make it a lot easier).

You need a suitable communications stack. Also, you don't have to have TCP/IP or Ethernet; you just need a modem that your computer can talk to -- the modem talks to the Internet (via an Internet Service Provider).

Small, cheap microcontrollers are able to serve as HTML web servers just fine, so I don't think you are asking for too much. Even 8-bit PICs have done this and many MCUs have built in TCP/IP and Ethernet stacks.

You might search for something like "embedded web server" and see what you find.
 

Thread Starter

AnalogDigitalDesigner

Joined Jan 22, 2018
121
The O/S and BIOS really don't have anything to do with it (though they might make it a lot easier).

You need a suitable communications stack. Also, you don't have to have TCP/IP or Ethernet; you just need a modem that your computer can talk to -- the modem talks to the Internet (via an Internet Service Provider).

Small, cheap microcontrollers are able to serve as HTML web servers just fine, so I don't think you are asking for too much. Even 8-bit PICs have done this and many MCUs have built in TCP/IP and Ethernet stacks.

You might search for something like "embedded web server" and see what you find.


Thank you for your supporting reply!

There's something called WIZNET, which is a hardware tcp/ip stack. Have you heard of this?
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,979
Thank you for your supporting reply!

There's something called WIZNET, which is a hardware tcp/ip stack. Have you heard of this?
Nope. But I just went and looked at their website and see that their chips are dollar-scale (~$5) and they give free samples, so it's probably worth exploring.
 

Thread Starter

AnalogDigitalDesigner

Joined Jan 22, 2018
121
Nope. But I just went and looked at their website and see that their chips are dollar-scale (~$5) and they give free samples, so it's probably worth exploring.

Hello Eagle Keeper,

Bill Buzzbee told me that I don't need an OS, or Minix to use Wiznet. That's fantastic don't you think ?
 
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