Low Latency 40-Gbps Ethernet IP Core User Guide

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ID 683745
Date 3/08/2021
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. About the LL 40GbE IP Core 2. Getting Started 3. Functional Description 4. Debugging the Link A. Arria 10 10GBASE-KR Registers B. Additional Information
1. About the LL 40GbE IP Core x
1.1. LL 40GbE IP Core Supported Features 1.2. IP Core Device Family and Speed Grade Support 1.3. IP Core Verification 1.4. Performance and Resource Utilization 1.5. Release Information
1.2. IP Core Device Family and Speed Grade Support x
1.2.1. LL 40GbE IP Core Device Family Support 1.2.2. LL 40GbE IP Core Device Speed Grade Support
1.3. IP Core Verification x
1.3.1. Simulation Environment 1.3.2. Compilation Checking 1.3.3. Hardware Testing
1.4. Performance and Resource Utilization x
1.4.1. Arria 10 Resource Utilization 1.4.2. Stratix V Resource Utilization
2. Getting Started x
2.1. Installation and Licensing for LL 40GbE IP Core for Stratix® V Devices 2.2. Installing and Licensing Intel® FPGA IP Cores 2.3. Specifying the IP Core Parameters and Options 2.4. IP Core Parameters 2.5. Files Generated for Stratix V Variations 2.6. Files Generated for Arria 10 Variations 2.7. Integrating Your IP Core in Your Design 2.8. IP Core Testbenches 2.9. Compiling the Full Design and Programming the FPGA 2.10. Initializing the IP Core
2.2. Installing and Licensing Intel® FPGA IP Cores x
2.2.1. Intel® FPGA IP Evaluation Mode
2.7. Integrating Your IP Core in Your Design x
2.7.1. Pin Assignments 2.7.2. External Transceiver Reconfiguration Controller Required in Stratix V Designs 2.7.3. Transceiver PLL Required in Arria 10 Designs 2.7.4. Handling Potential Jitter in Intel® Arria® 10 Devices 2.7.5. External Time-of-Day Module for Variations with 1588 PTP Feature 2.7.6. Clock Requirements for 40GBASE-KR4 Variations 2.7.7. External TX MAC PLL 2.7.8. Placement Settings for the LL 40GbE Core
2.8. IP Core Testbenches x
2.8.1. Testbench Behavior 2.8.2. Simulating the LL 40GbE IP Core With the Testbenches
2.8.2. Simulating the LL 40GbE IP Core With the Testbenches x
2.8.2.1. Generating the LL 40GbE Testbench 2.8.2.2. Optimizing the IP Core Simulation With the Testbenches 2.8.2.3. Optimization in the 40GBASE-KR4 Testbench 2.8.2.4. Simulating with the Modelsim Simulator 2.8.2.5. Simulating with the NCSim Simulator 2.8.2.6. Simulating with the VCS Simulator 2.8.2.7. Testbench Output Example
3. Functional Description x
3.1. High Level System Overview 3.2. LL 40GbE IP Core Functional Description 3.3. Signals 3.4. Software Interface: Registers 3.5. Ethernet Glossary
3.2. LL 40GbE IP Core Functional Description x
3.2.1. LL 40GbE IP Core TX Datapath 3.2.2. LL 40GbE IP Core TX Data Bus Interfaces 3.2.3. LL 40GbE IP Core RX Datapath 3.2.4. LL 40GbE IP Core RX Data Bus Interfaces 3.2.5. External Reconfiguration Controller 3.2.6. External Transceiver PLL 3.2.7. External TX MAC PLL 3.2.8. Congestion and Flow Control Using Pause Frames 3.2.9. Pause Control and Generation Interface 3.2.10. Pause Control Frame Filtering 3.2.11. Link Fault Signaling Interface 3.2.12. Statistics Counters Interface 3.2.13. 1588 Precision Time Protocol Interfaces 3.2.14. PHY Status Interface 3.2.15. Transceiver PHY Serial Data Interface 3.2.16. Low Latency 40GBASE-KR4 IP Core Variations 3.2.17. Control and Status Interface 3.2.18. Arria 10 Transceiver Reconfiguration Interface 3.2.19. Clocks 3.2.20. Resets
3.2.1. LL 40GbE IP Core TX Datapath x
3.2.1.1. Preamble, Start, and SFD Insertion 3.2.1.2. Address Insertion 3.2.1.3. Length/Type Field Processing 3.2.1.4. Frame Padding 3.2.1.5. Frame Check Sequence (CRC-32) Insertion 3.2.1.6. Inter-Packet Gap Generation and Insertion 3.2.1.7. Error Insertion Test and Debug Feature
3.2.2. LL 40GbE IP Core TX Data Bus Interfaces x
3.2.2.1. LL 40GbE IP Core User Interface Data Bus 3.2.2.2. LL 40GbE IP Core TX Data Bus with Adapters (Avalon-ST Interface) 3.2.2.3. LL 40GbE IP Core TX Data Bus Without Adapters (Custom Streaming Interface) 3.2.2.4. Bus Quantization Effects With Adapters 3.2.2.5. User Interface to Ethernet Transmission
3.2.2.5. User Interface to Ethernet Transmission x
3.2.2.5.1. Order of Transmission
3.2.3. LL 40GbE IP Core RX Datapath x
3.2.3.1. LL 40GbE IP Core RX Filtering 3.2.3.2. LL 40GbE IP Core Preamble Processing 3.2.3.3. IP Core Strict SFD Checking 3.2.3.4. LL 40GbE IP Core FCS (CRC-32) Removal 3.2.3.5. LL 40GbE IP Core CRC Checking 3.2.3.6. LL 40GbE IP Core Malformed Packet Handling 3.2.3.7. RX CRC Forwarding 3.2.3.8. Inter-Packet Gap 3.2.3.9. Pause Ignore 3.2.3.10. Control Frame Identification
3.2.4. LL 40GbE IP Core RX Data Bus Interfaces x
3.2.4.1. LL 40GbE IP Core User Interface Data Bus 3.2.4.2. LL 40GbE IP Core RX Data Bus with Adapters (Avalon-ST Interface) 3.2.4.3. LL 40GbE IP Core RX Data Bus Without Adapters (Custom Streaming Interface)
3.2.8. Congestion and Flow Control Using Pause Frames x
3.2.8.1. Conditions Triggering XOFF Frame Transmission 3.2.8.2. Conditions Triggering XON Frame Transmission
3.2.12. Statistics Counters Interface x
3.2.12.1. OctetOK Count Interface
3.2.13. 1588 Precision Time Protocol Interfaces x
3.2.13.1. Implementing a 1588 System That Includes a LL 40GbE Core 3.2.13.2. PTP Receive Functionality 3.2.13.3. PTP Transmit Functionality 3.2.13.4. External Time-of-Day Module for 1588 PTP Variations 3.2.13.5. PTP Timestamp and TOD Formats 3.2.13.6. 1588 PTP Interface Signals
3.3. Signals x
3.3.1. LL 40GbE IP Core Signals
3.4. Software Interface: Registers x
3.4.1. LL 40GbE IP Core Registers 3.4.2. LL 40GbE Hardware Design Example Registers
3.4.1. LL 40GbE IP Core Registers x
3.4.1.1. PHY Registers 3.4.1.2. Link Fault Signaling Registers 3.4.1.3. LL 40GBASE-KR4 Registers 3.4.1.4. LL 40GbE IP Core MAC Configuration Registers 3.4.1.5. Pause Registers 3.4.1.6. TX Statistics Registers 3.4.1.7. RX Statistics Registers 3.4.1.8. 1588 PTP Registers
3.4.2. LL 40GbE Hardware Design Example Registers x
3.4.2.1. Packet Client Registers
4. Debugging the Link x
4.1. Creating a Signal Tap Debug File to Match Your Design Hierarchy
A. Arria 10 10GBASE-KR Registers x
A.1. 10GBASE-KR PHY Register Definitions
B. Additional Information x
B.1. LL 40GbE IP Core User Guide Archives B.2. LL 40GbE IP Core User Guide Revision History
1. About the LL 40GbE IP Core
2. Getting Started
3. Functional Description
4. Debugging the Link
A. Arria 10 10GBASE-KR Registers
B. Additional Information

4. Debugging the Link

Begin debugging your link at the most basic level, with word lock. Then, consider higher level issues.

The following steps should help you identify and resolve common problems that occur when bringing up a LL 40GbE IP core link:

  1. Establish word lock—The RX lanes should be able to achieve word lock even in the presence of extreme bit error rates. If the IP core is unable to achieve word lock, check the transceiver clocking and data rate configuration. Check for cabling errors such as the reversal of the TX and RX lanes. Check the clock frequency monitors in the Control and Status registers.

    To check for word lock: Clear the FRM_ERR register by writing the value of 1 followed by another write of 0 to the SCLR_FRM_ERR register at offset 0x324.Then read the FRM_ERR register at offset 0x323. If the value is zero, the core has word lock. If non-zero the status is indeterminate

  2. When having problems with word lock, check the EIO_FREQ_LOCK register at address 0x321. The values in this register define the status of the recovered clock. In normal operation, all the bits should be asserted. A non-asserted (value-0) or toggling logic value on the bit that corresponds to any lane, indicates a clock recovery problem. Clock recovery difficulties are typically caused by the following problems:
    • A bit error rate (BER)
    • Failure to establish the link
    • Incorrect clock inputs to the IP core
  3. Check the PMA FIFO levels by selecting appropriate bits in the EIO_FLAG_SEL register and reading the values in the EIO_FLAGS register. During normal operation, the TX and RX FIFOs should be nominally filled. Observing a the TX FIFO is either empty or full typically indicates a problem with clock frequencies. The RX FIFO should never be full, although an empty RX FIFO can be tolerated.
  4. Establish lane integrity—When operating properly, the lanes should not experience bit errors at a rate greater than roughly one per hour per day. Bit errors within data packets are identified as FCS errors. Bit errors in control information, including IDLE frames, generally cause errors in XL/CGMII decoding.
  5. Verify packet traffic—The Ethernet protocol includes automatic lane reordering so the higher levels should follow the PCS. If the PCS is locked, but higher level traffic is corrupted, there may be a problem with the remote transmitter virtual lane tags.
  6. Tuning—You can adjust analog parameters to improve the bit error rate. IDLE traffic is representative for analog purposes.

In addition, your IP core can experience loss of signal on the Ethernet link after it is established. In this case, the TX functionality is unaffected, but the RX functionality is disrupted. The following symptoms indicate a loss of signal on the Ethernet link:

  • The IP core deasserts the rx_pcs_ready signal, indicating the IP core has lost alignment marker lock.
  • The IP core deasserts the RX PCS fully aligned status bit (bit [0]) of the RX_PCS_FULLY_ALIGNED_S register at offset 0x326. This change is linked to the change in value of the rx_pcs_ready signal.
  • If Enable link fault generation is turned on, the IP core sets local_fault_status to the value of 1.
  • The IP core triggers the RX digital reset process.

Section Content
Creating a Signal Tap Debug File to Match Your Design Hierarchy

Related Information
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