Please recommend an STM32 MCU that will best suit our needs

[bojankoce]

Hello guys,

We should start soon with the development of our new version of an IoT board that is controlled through the Google Cloud IoT by the help of Ethernet connection. We have a goal to replace ESP-32 module we are currently using. In that sense I would like to ask you for the following advises:

1) Is there any STM32 MCU from the Cortex-M4 family you can recommend us that supports Ethernet connectivity?

2) Do you have a library that will support communication with the Google Cloud through MQTT messages? If affirmative, is that library stable and ready to be used for commercial products?

Thanks in advance for your time and efforts.

Sincerely,

Bojan.

[Piranha]

STM32F4 series. Look at F407 and higher number models, except F446.

https://www.st.com/content/st_com/en/products/microcontrollers-microprocessors/stm32-32-bit-arm-cortex-mcus/stm32-high-performance-mcus/stm32f4-series.html

As for software...

https://community.st.com/s/question/0D50X0000BOtfhnSQB/how-to-make-ethernet-and-lwip-working-on-stm32

You can get it to "work", but... Essentially all their Cube/HAL code for STM32 is made by brainless code monkeys and is a non-working bloatware full of bugs and flaws. And Ethernet and USB related code are probably the worst parts of it.

[bojankoce]

Thanks for your feedback, @Piranha​ !

OK, I will find some STM32 MCU from Cortex-M4 series supporting Ethernet communication. However, your experience about HAL code around Ethernet makes me a little bit worried! :sad_but_relieved_face:

I came across this Cube expansion package that is tailored for Google Cloud Platform with some Ethernet examples. Any idea what I might expect from that? Perhaps they advanced with the Code/HAL in the meantime making it more reliable?

Finally, why not to ask even here, is there any other MCU vendor (e.g. Texas Instruments, Renesas, NXP, Microchip...) that you think can offer easier and more reliable Ethernet communication with Google Cloud IoT support?

Thanks in advance once again!

Sincerely,

Bojan.

[Amel NASRI]

Hi @bojankoce​ ,

For IOT applications, why don't you look to the IOT dedicated board: B-L475E-IOT01A or B-L4S5I-IOT01A?

Then, you have also the tool ST-MCU-FINDER (embedded in STM32CubeMX) that can help you to fine tune the selection of the suitable MCUs for your needs.

For software part: the solution is X-CUBE-CLOUD. X-CUBE-GCP is IoT Google Cloud Platform software expansion for STM32Cube

All required resources and literature are in the provided hyperlinks.

-Amel

[bojankoce]

Hello, @Amel NASRI​ .

We are interested for using Ethernet connection to the cloud. The boards you suggested offer only WiFi connectivity.

Thanks for pointing ST-MCU-FINDER tool to me.

Are your Ethernet and IoT Google Cloud libraries stable enough to be used in production code?

Bojan.

[Amel NASRI]

"The 32F769IDISCOVERY board provides a native Ethernet interface." ==> this is what we say in X-CUBE-GCP overview. More details in UM2441 (Getting started with Google Cloud Platform™ Expansion Package for STM32Cube).

I assume this meets your needs. You can explore both HW and FW solution on your side to assess its stability compared to your expectation.

-Amel