SPWS017B - APRIL 1995 - REVISED AUGUST 1996
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ThunderLAN is a high-speed networking architecture that provides a complete PCI-to-10 Base-T/AUI Ethernet solution with the flexibility to handle 100-Mbps Ethernet protocols as the user's networking demands grow.
The TNETE100, an implementation of the ThunderLAN architecture, is an intelligent-network protocol interface. The ThunderLAN SRAM FIFO-based architecture eliminates the need for external memory and offers a single-chip glueless PCI-to-10 Base-T/AUI (IEEE 802.3) solution with an on-board physical layer interface. Modular support for 100 Base-T (IEEE 802.3u) and 100VG-AnyLAN (IEEE 802.12) is provided by a superset of the industry-standard Media Independent Interface (MII). ThunderLAN uses a single driver suite to support multiple networking protocols.
The glueless PCI interface supports 32-bit streaming, operates at speeds up to 33 MHz and is capable of internal data transfer rates up to 2 Gbps, taking full advantage of all available PCI bandwidth. The TNETE100 offers jumperless autoconfiguration using PCI configuration read/write cycles. Customizable configuration registers, which can be autoloaded from an external serial EEPROM, allow designers of TNETE100-based systems to give their systems a unique identification code. The TNETE100 PCI interface, developed in conjunction with other leaders in the semiconductor and computer industries, has been tested vigorously on multiple platforms to ensure compatibility across a wide array of available PCI products. In addition, the ThunderLAN drivers and ThunderLAN architecture use TI's patented Adaptive Performance Optimization (APO) technology to adjust dynamically critical parameters for minimum latency, minimum host CPU utilization, and maximum system performance. This technology ensures that the maximum capabilities of the PCI interface are used by automatically tuning the adapter to the specific system in which it is operating.
The MII, an industry-standard interface for connecting a variety of external IEEE 802.3u physical layer interfaces, is supported fully by the TNETE100. In addition, the TNETE100 features an IEEE 802.12-compliant superset of the MII to allow for support of 100VG-AnyLAN physical layer interfaces. This allows TNETE100-based systems to support 100 Base-Tx, 100 Base-T4, and 100VG-AnyLAN cabling schemes for maximum flexibility as each new physical layer interface becomes available in the marketplace.
An intelligent protocol handler (PH) implements the serial protocols of the network. The PH is designed for minimum overhead related to multiple protocols, using common state machines to implement 95% of the total protocol handler. On transmit, the PH serializes data, adds framing and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) fields, and interfaces to the network physical layer (PHY) chip. On receive, it provides address recognition, CRC and error checking, frame disassembly, and deserialization. Data for multiple channels is passed to and from the PH by way of circular buffer pointers in the FIFO SRAM.
ThunderLAN is the first multimedia-ready architecture and is capable of handling prioritized data regardless of the selected protocol. The demand-priority protocol supports two priorities of frames: normal and priority. The two transmit channels provide independent host channels for these two frame types. Carrier-sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) protocols only support a single priority of frame, but the two channels can be used to prioritize network access. All received frames pass through the single receive channel.
Compliant with IEEE Standard 1149.1 (JTAG), the TNETE100 provides a 5-pin test-access port that is used for boundary-scan testing.
The TNETE100 is available in a 144-pin quad flat package.
View more information about generic part numbers:TNETE100
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