80 MHz Cortex-M3 with Ethernet and CAN — what this part does
The LM3S9781-IQC80-C5T: 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 MCU from the Stellaris 9000 series, clocked at 80 MHz. It carries 128 KB of Flash and 64 KB of RAM.
128 KB Flash and 64 KB RAM — memory budget for a control gateway
The 128 KB program Flash and 64 KB SRAM are sized for a moderate firmware stack — a TCP/IP stack, CANopen or Modbus application layer, and a few hundred lines of control logic fit comfortably. The 64 KB RAM provides enough buffer space for Ethernet packet handling and a small data log. Designs requiring larger code or data sets (e.g., full web server with graphics) will need to step up to a higher-density sibling in the Stellaris family.
