Arduino Official Ethernet Shield Announced

Arduino have taken the tiny wraps off of the official ethernet shield for their open-source prototyping platform, which adds network connectivity to the device.  Based on the Wiznet W5100 ethernet chip, the new shield provides a network (IP) stack capable of both TCP and UDP, and supports up to four simultaneous socket connections.

There's also an SD card slot that, while not currently supported in the Arduino software, will allow for extended content and webpages for an Arduino-based server once the software library is updated to enable it.  The ethernet shield itself connects via long wire-wrap headers that have been extended through the board and allow for a second shield to be mounted on top.

There's also a reset button, which resets both the ethernet shield and the Arduino, and seven LEDs indicating power and network status.  Schematics and construction guides are already available to download from here.

[via Hack a Day]