Looking for the right IC for my LAN device project

[fiuba]

Hi everyone, this is my first post.

I'm into a new project that consists of a lan-device resetter/switcher based on their online status. I'm looking for the right integrated circuit to base the project on.

Ideally it should be a cheap commercial programmable microcontroller with at least one lan port and a couple of logical programmable I/Os. It's best if it has a couple of years in the market, so there's easy support for it in forums and the like. I also plan to connect some triacs to it (whether directly or thru optocouplers).

I would appreciate any suggestion (possible examples) as I'm really clueless as to where to start looking for. For instance, if someone points me to one or two candidate chips, I will start studying them and that'll be a start after which I can further refine my search.

Thanks in advance!

[Twidget]

I think you’re going to need more than Just a uController. Because you don’t know much I would suggest starting with the Arduino Ethernet platform. At least to prototype, then you can rebuild with the components you need.

[fiuba]

I think you’re going to need more than Just a uController. Because you don’t know much I would suggest starting with the Arduino Ethernet platform. At least to prototype, then you can rebuild with the components you need.

Thanks for your answer Twidget.
But the idea is to build a prototype that could later be mass-produced (it won't be really, but it needs to be built as if, since it's a school project that has to simulate the reality of a creating a new product for the market). So there's  no point for me in puting something to work if you're gonna need to change it completely later. Is there a proven uC that manages one or more lan ports, that is not  an open source or non-profit project?  Thanks for any clue.