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Altera_Forum
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16 years ago

Cyclone 4 GX in GIG-E mode / magnetics

It looks like the C4 GX parts will have all the circuitry to create a Gigabit Ethernet PHY, and the I/O even supports on-chip termination. Can I take this to mean that you could simply run the lines out to the transformers, and have a working Gig-E Ethernet port?

It sure looks like it, but before I even contemplate a design, it would be nice to confirm. Are there any reference designs out yet?

Also, it appears that the PIPE support includes a MAC/PHY for PCI-E. Is there similar support for a Gig-E MAC in hardware, or are we still going to have to implement a GMII MAC in fabric for that? (I'm guessing yes, but it would be awesome to have a working Gig-E MAC on the die, saving resources for the application)

Thanks!

-Seth

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  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    16 years ago

    Did you understand, that Altera Gigabit transceivers can't provide an Ethernet interface according to the popular 1000BASE-T standard? It involves four bidirectional links at 250 MBPS, connected through hybrids. It can only work with 1000BASE-CX (short-haul copper). See IEEE 802.3 section 3, clause 39 and 40 for details.