USB to Ethernet Hub

CircuitPython on hardware including Adafruit's boards, and CircuitPython libraries using Blinka on host computers.

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JPF100
 
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USB to Ethernet Hub

Post by JPF100 »

Hello,

I am looking to setup the ADAFruit USB to Ethernet Hub between my control PC and multiple Grand Central,(GC), boards. Will I be able to see these GC boards as separate IP addresses and communicate with them over Ethernet?

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neradoc
 
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Re: USB to Ethernet Hub

Post by neradoc »

No, this adds an ethernet port to the PC, and is a USB Hub. That's it.
There is no link between the ethernet port and the USB hub.

It would be possible to run some sort of server on your PC that could forward data to and from a serial port I'm sure, though I don't know of any existing solution.

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JPF100
 
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Re: USB to Ethernet Hub

Post by JPF100 »

Thank you so much for your quick response. I have another question. Are there persistent Grand Central USB identifiers if there are 2 of them setup as serial ports? In other words if 2 of the GS's were connected and not moved, but the computer was powered cycled, would the GS's maintain their same IDs? Thanks again for your timely response!

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neradoc
 
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Re: USB to Ethernet Hub

Post by neradoc »

Depending on the software that you use, you should be able to list the serial ports and read each port's properties based on the USB device. Each board should have a unique ID (serial number). The API to use will depend on your OS and host-side programming language.

For example using pyserial. First install it: pip install pyserial (or first install python depending on your OS).

Code: Select all

import serial.tools.list_ports
ports = serial.tools.list_ports.comports()
for port in ports:
    print(port.serial_number, port.device)
So even if the port changes, you can find the boards based on the unique serial_number. If you have fine control over the USB code on the board, you can use other fields like the interface name or the USB product name for example.

To find Circuitpython boards we have a library that wraps pyserial (and fixes a couple of bugs) and lets you list Circuitpyhon console or data ports and access those same pyserial properties: https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Board_Toolkit

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JPF100
 
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Re: USB to Ethernet Hub

Post by JPF100 »

Hello, thank you for the schematic. Just to let you know, I personally purchased one of the GC cards. My company purchased 2 more from AdaFruit. If everything works out we will need about 20-30 of these when we are through the design phase. Many thanks for your prompt replies and help!
Jon

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