Honored Contributor
Honored ContributorHi Peter,
I haven't actually used Altera's TSE, but I can tell you how 1000Base-X works in this regard. The PCS transmits a K28.5 symbol as part of either idle of configuration ordered sets (referred to as /C/). There's a special series of bits contained in this symbol called a "comma". The PCS looks for this sequence of bits and uses it to align the serial stream. Once it thinks it has alignment, it looks for either idle (if autoneg is disabled) or /C/ sets. If you have aneg disabled, it should be sending idle (/I/). If autoneg is enabled, it will transmit /C/ encoded with 0's for abilities until it sees valid signaling from a link partner. Once it sees valid signaling, it will transmit /C/ encoded with the device's advertised abilities, and negotiate a link. IEEE 802.3 Clause 36 specifies the 1000Base-X PCS, and Clause 37 specifies 1000Base-X autonegotiation. I hope that helps.
