Method and system for a multi-rate gigabit media independent interface

Abstract

Disclosed is a UGMII system to interface multirate devices including 10 gigabit per second data exchange rates. Mode selection is enabled to provide for automatic detection and adaptation to any transmit rate including 10M, 100M, 1G, and 10G. Mode selection comprises the negotiation between the UGMII extension sublayers located at the MAC and PHY to select between one of several operational modes including: XGIVIII communication, GIYIII encapsulation, Clause 22 MDIO register management and Clause 45 MDIO register management. Selection of UGMII and XGMII operating modes are negotiated between the MAC and PHY using ordered sets to announce and acknowledgement a mode change. In one embodiment 802.3 Clause 46 defined ordered sets are utilized.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A rate adaptive interface configured to interface a MAC media access control (MAC) device of a network device with a PHY physical layer (PHY) device of the network device, the rate adaptive interface comprising:
 a rate adaptation media independent interface module in communication with a the MAC device implemented in one or both of circuitry and software, the rate adaptation media independent interface module configured to:
 receive fixed rate data at a first fixed rate from a first MAC port and variable rate data at a variable rate selected from 10 Mb/s, 100 Mb/s, and 1 Gb/s; from a second MAC port, 
 process the variable rate data to a the first fixed rate of 1 Gb/s; to generate processed data at the first fixed rate, 
 output the fixed rate data or the processed data at a the first fixed rateof 1 Gb/s; and 
 
 an encapsulation/recovery module configured to receive the data at a rate of 1 Gb/s from the rate adaptation module, and encapsulate the data at a rate of 1 Gb/s to generated data at a rate of 10 Gb/s; 
 a multiplexer configured to receive the fixed rate data at a rate of 10 Gb/s from the encapsulation/recovery module or to received receive the processed data from a MAC device at a rate of 10 Gb/s and selectively output the fixed rate data or the processed data at a the fixed rate of 10 Gb/s responsive to a mode selection control signal; 
 a mode selection module configured to control the multiplexer based on control input from a higher layer device; and 
 wherein the media independent interface module includes an ordered set generation and detection module in communication with the multiplexer and the mode selection moduleimplemented in one or both of circuitry and software, the ordered set generation and detection module configured to detect ordered setswhich, wherein the ordered sets include (i) ordered sets that announce aoperational mode change wherein the ordered set generation and detection module is in communication with the mode selection modulechanges corresponding to changes in data rate and are communicated in-band from the MAC device to the PHY device and from the PHY device to the MAC device, and (ii) ordered sets that acknowledge the operational mode changes and are communicated in-band from the MAC device to the PHY device and from the PHY device to the MAC device. 
 
     
     
       2. The system rate adaptive interface of claim  1  21, wherein the encapsulation/recovery module is further configured to recover encapsulated data thereby changing the data rate from a 10 G data rate to a 1 G data rate. 
     
     
       3. The system rate adaptive interface of claim  1  21, wherein the mode selection module adjusts the data rate of operation between 10 Mb/s, 100 Mb/s, or 1 Gb/s. 
     
     
       4. The system rate adaptive interface of claim  1  21, wherein the encapsulation/recovery module is further configured with an input to receive data at a rate of 10 Gb/s and perform recovery thereon to output the data at a rate of 1 Gb/s. 
     
     
       5. A rate adaptive interface for use in a network device, the interface comprising:
 A MACa media access control (MAC) device configured to output variable rate data from a first port at a variable first rate and fixed rate data from a second port at a fixed second rate; 
 a rate adaptation media independent interface module, implemented in one or both of circuitry and software, and configured received to (i) receive the variable rate data from the MAC device at the variable first rate and (ii) convert the variable rate data at the variable first rate to processed data at the second a fixed third rate; and 
 an encapsulation module configured to receive the processed data at the second fixed third rate from the rate adaptation module and convert the processed data at the second fixed third rate to processed data at a third the fixed second rate; 
 a switch configured to interface with the encapsulation module and the MAC device to receive data at a rate of 10 Gb/s the fixed second rate from either the encapsulation module or from the second port of the MAC device and output the data at a rate of 10 Gb/s the fixed second rate, the switch controlled by a mode selection control signal; 
 a mode selection module configured to provide the mode selection control signal to the switch to thereby control operation of the switch; 
 an ordered set generation and detection module, implemented in one or both of circuitry and software, and configured to generate and detect ordered sets, wherein the ordered sets include (i) ordered sets that announce operational mode changes corresponding to changes in data rate and are communicated in-band from the MAC device to the PHY device and from the PHY device to the MAC device, and (ii) ordered sets that acknowledge the operational mode changes and are communicated in-band from the MAC device to the PHY device and from the PHY device to the MAC device. 
 
     
     
       6. The rate adaptive interface of claim  5  31, further comprising an extension sublayer configured to receive data at a rate of 10 Gb/s from the switch, wherein the extension sublayer extends the distance which the data at a rate of 10 Gb/s may be transmitted. 
     
     
       7. The rate adaptive interface of claim  5  31, further comprising an wherein the ordered set generation and detection module (i) is configured to interface with the switch to detect ordered sets which determine a mode change, wherein the ordered set generation and detection module and (ii) is in communication with the mode selection module. 
     
     
       8. The rate adaptive interface of claim  5  31, wherein the encapsulation module is further configured to recover encapsulated data thereby changing the data rate from a 10 G data rate to a 1 G data rate. 
     
     
       9. The rate adaptive interface of claim  5  31, wherein data at the variable first rate comprises data at a rate of 10 Mb/s, 100 Mb/s, or 1 Gb/s, and data at the second third rate comprises data at a rate of 1 Gb/s, and data at the third second rate comprises data at a rate of 10 Gb/s. 
     
     
       10. The rate adaptive interface of claim  5  31, wherein data at the third second rate has a format that is different than the data at the second third rate. 
     
     
       11. The rate adaptive interface of claim  5  31, wherein the switch comprises a multiplexer. 
     
     
       12. The rate adaptive interface of claim  5  31, further comprising a the PHY Device device, and wherein the PHY device is configured to receive data at a rate of 10 Gb/s from the switch. 
     
     
       13. The rate adaptive interface of claim  5  31, wherein the first port and the second port comprise input/output ports and the switch is configured to receive and transmit data to either of the second port of the MAC device or the encapsulation module. 
     
     
       14. A method for interfacing a multirate MAC media access control (MAC) device in a network communication device with a PHY physical layer (PHY) device in a the network communication device, the method comprising:
 outputting unprocessed i) variable rate data from the multirate MAC device at a variable rate to a rate adaptation media independent interface module, the media independent interface module implemented in one or both of circuitry and software, or ii) fixed rate data at a first fixed rate to a multiplexer; 
 processing the data at the rate adaptation media independent interface module to up-convert the data at a the variable rate to data at a second fixed rate; 
 processing the data at the second fixed rate with an encapsulation module to generate processed data at the first fixed rate; 
 receiving, at a the multiplexer, the unprocessed fixed rate data from the MAC device at the first fixed rate or the processed data at the first fixed rate; 
 receiving, at the multiplexer, a mode selection signal and responsive to the mode selection signal, outputting from the multiplexer the unprocessed data at the first rate or the processed data at the first rate; 
 detecting, with an ordered set generation and detection module of the media independent interface module, ordered sets communicated in-band from the MAC device to the PHY device and from the PHY device to the MAC device, wherein the ordered sets include (i) ordered sets that announce operational mode changes corresponding to changes in data rate, and (ii) ordered sets that acknowledge the operational mode changes. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of claim  14  41, wherein the variable rate consists of 10 Mb/s, is selected from a set of rates that includes 100 Mb/s and 1 Gb/s. 
     
     
       16. The method of claim  14  41, wherein the first fixed rate comprises 10 Gb/s and the second fixed rate comprises 1 Gb/s. 
     
     
       17. The method of claim  14  41, wherein processing the data at the second fixed rate with an encapsulation module further comprise altering the format of the data. 
     
     
       18. The method of claim  14  41, further comprising outputting the data from the multiplexer to an extension sublayer, a the PHY device, or a second multiplexer. 
     
     
       19. The method of claim  14  41, wherein up-sampling processing the data at the rate adaptation module comprises padding or repeating data received at the variable rate to create data at a the second fixed rate. 
     
     
       20. The method of claim  14  41, further comprising:
 establishing a mode of operation; 
 receiving data at the first fixed rate at the multiplexer from a the PHY device, an extension sublayer, or a second multiplexer; 
 responsive to the mode of operation, outputting the data at the first fixed rate to either the MAC device or to a recovery unit; 
 responsive to the outputting the data at the first fixed rate to a recovery unit, converting the data at the first fixed rate to the second fixed rate; 
 converting the data at the second fixed rate to data at a third fixed rate, wherein the data at the third fixed rate is a rate selected from a group of variable rates; 
 outputting the data at the third fixed rate to the MAC device. 
 
     
     
       21. The rate adaptive interface of claim 1, wherein
 the media independent interface module includes a rate adaptation module in communication with the MAC device,   the rate adaptation module is configured to receive the variable rate data at a rate selected from a set of rates that includes 100 Mb/s and 1 Gb/s and output fixed rate data at a second fixed rate,   the first fixed rate is 10 Gb/s, and   the media independent interface module further comprises:
 an encapsulation/recovery module configured to receive the fixed rate data at the second fixed rate from the rate adaptation module, and encapsulate the data at a rate of 1 Gb/s to generated data at a rate of 10 Gb/s, 
 a mode selection module configured to control the multiplexer based on control input from a higher layer device; 
   wherein the ordered set generation and detection module is in communication with the multiplexer and the mode selection module.   
     
     
       22. The rate adaptive interface of claim 1, wherein the first fixed rate is 10 Gb/s. 
     
     
       23. The rate adaptive interface of claim 1, wherein the variable rate is selected from a set of rates that includes 10 Mb/s, 100 Mb/s, 1 Gb/s, and 10 Gb/s. 
     
     
       24. The rate adaptive interface of claim 1, wherein the variable rate is selected from a set of rates that includes 100 Mb/s, 1 Gb/s, and 10 Gb/s. 
     
     
       25. The rate adaptive interface of claim 1, wherein the media independent interface module is configured to repeat data units in the data as part of processing the data to the fixed rate. 
     
     
       26. The rate adaptive interface of claim 25, wherein the media independent interface module is configured to repeat octets in the data. 
     
     
       27. The rate adaptive interface of claim 1, wherein the media independent interface module is configured to perform idle stuffing between data units as part of processing the data to the first fixed rate. 
     
     
       28. The rate adaptive interface of claim 1, wherein the media independent interface module is configured to output the data at the fixed rate via a standardized interface. 
     
     
       29. The rate adaptive interface of claim 28, wherein the standardized interface is the 10-gigabit media independent interface (XGMII). 
     
     
       30. The rate adaptive interface of claim 28, wherein the media independent interface module further comprises an extension sublayer module configured to:
 receive data at the first fixed rate via the standardized interface, and   serialize data received via the standardized interface into one or more lanes.   
     
     
       31. The rate adaptive interface of claim 30, wherein the extension sublayer module is configured to serialize data received via the standardized interface into a plurality of lanes. 
     
     
       32. The rate adaptive interface of claim 5,
 wherein the media independent interface module includes:
 a rate adaptation module configured to (i) receive the variable rate data from the MAC device at the variable first rate and (ii) convert the variable rate data at the variable first rate to the processed data at the fixed third rate. 
   
     
     
       33. The rate adaptive interface of claim 5, wherein the fixed third rate is 10 Gb/s. 
     
     
       34. The rate adaptive interface of claim 5, wherein the variable first rate is selected from a set of rates that includes 10 Mb/s, 100 Mb/s, 1 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s. 
     
     
       35. The rate adaptive interface of claim 5, wherein the variable first rate is selected from a set of rates that includes 100 Mb/s, 1 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s. 
     
     
       36. The rate adaptive interface of claim 5, wherein the media independent interface module is configured to repeat data units in the data as part of converting the data at the variable first rate to data at the second rate. 
     
     
       37. The rate adaptive interface of claim 36, wherein the media independent interface module is configured to repeat octets in the data. 
     
     
       38. The rate adaptive interface of claim 5, wherein the media independent interface module is configured to perform idle stuffing between data units as part of converting the data at the variable first rate to data at the second rate. 
     
     
       39. The rate adaptive interface of claim 5, wherein the media independent interface module is configured to output the data at the third fixed rate via a standardized interface. 
     
     
       40. The rate adaptive interface of claim 39, wherein the standardized interface is the 10-gigabit media independent interface (XGMII). 
     
     
       41. The rate adaptive interface of claim 39, wherein the media independent interface module further comprises an extension sublayer module configured to:
 receive data at the third fixed rate via the standardized interface, and   serialize data received via the standardized interface into one or more lanes.   
     
     
       42. The rate adaptive interface of claim 41, wherein the extension sublayer module is configured to serialize data received via the standardized interface into a plurality of lanes. 
     
     
       43. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
 outputting unprocessed data from the multirate MAC device at the variable rate to a rate adaptation module of the media independent interface module or at the first fixed rate to a multiplexer;   processing the data at the rate adaptation module to up-convert the data at the variable rate to data at a second fixed rate;   processing the data at the second fixed rate with an encapsulation module to generate processed data at the first fixed rate;   receiving, at a multiplexer, the unprocessed data from the MAC device at the first fixed rate or the processed data at the first fixed rate;   receiving, at the multiplexer, a mode selection signal and responsive to the mode selection signal, outputting from the multiplexer the unprocessed data at the first fixed rate or the processed data at the first fixed rate.   
     
     
       44. The method of claim 14, wherein the first fixed rate is 10 Gb/s. 
     
     
       45. The method of claim 14, wherein the variable rate is selected from a set of rates that includes 10 Mb/s, 100 Mb/s, 1 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s. 
     
     
       46. The method of claim 14, wherein the variable rate is selected from a set of rates that includes 100 Mb/s, 1 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s. 
     
     
       47. The method of claim 14, wherein processing the data at the media independent interface module includes repeating data units in the data as part of up-converting the data at the variable rate to data at the first fixed rate. 
     
     
       48. The method of claim 47, wherein repeating data units in the data comprises repeating octets in the data. 
     
     
       49. The method of claim 14, wherein processing the data at the media independent interface module includes performing idle stuffing between data units as part of up-converting the data at the variable rate to data at the first fixed rate. 
     
     
       50. The method of claim 14, further comprising outputting data at the first fixed rate via a standardized interface. 
     
     
       51. The method of claim 50, wherein outputting data at the first fixed rate via the standardized interface includes outputting data at the first fixed rate via the 10-gigabit media independent interface (XGMII). 
     
     
       52. The method of claim 50, further comprising:
 providing, via the standardized interface, data at the first fixed rate to an extension sublayer module; and   serializing, with the extension sublayer module, data at the first fixed rate into one or more lanes.   
     
     
       53. The method of claim 52, wherein serializing data at the first fixed rate comprises serializing data at the first fixed rate into a plurality of lanes.