Re: which protocols shud an embedded system designer master?
For control and management of the device from another machine, over a network such as a LAN or even internet, SNMP protocol is often used.It stands for simple network management protocol.
Although it is a very simple protocol, it is very powerful in terms of managing devices remotely from other machines.
This protocol is implemented in the application layer, which is the highest layer in the well-known OSI network model. It is usually implemented on a micro-controller on a device, which makes it embedded!
For more information you can go to www.google.com and search for snmp. You will get quite good info on the theory and the implementation.