Ethernet Support Center
Guidelines, tutorials and documentation for selecting a design, implementing ethernet links, and instructions on how to bring up your system and debug the links.
The Ethernet IP Support Center provides information on how to select, design, and implement Ethernet links for Agilex™ 7, Agilex™ 5, Agilex™ 3, Stratix® 10, Arria® 10, and Cyclone® 10 devices. There are also guidelines on how to bring up your system and debug the Ethernet links. This page is organized into categories that align with an Ethernet system design flow from start to finish.
Get additional support for Agilex™ 7 FPGA Interface Protocol Design, Agilex™ 5 FPGA Interface Protocol Design, and Agilex™ 3 FPGA Interface Protocol Design step-by-step guided journeys for standard development flows surfacing the key critical resources and documentation.
For other devices, search the Device and Product Support Collections.
Getting Started
Agilex™ 7 Device Family High-Speed Serial Interface Signal Integrity Design Guidelines
Agilex™ 7 Device Schematic Review Worksheet
Agilex™ 5 FPGAs and SoCs PCB Design Guidelines (HSSI, EMIF, MIPI, True Differential, PDN)
Agilex™ 5 Device Schematic Review Worksheet
PCB Layout, Routing, and Power Distribution Network Design Guidelines: Agilex™ 3 FPGAs and SoCs
Ethernet Design Implementation Block Diagram
1. Device and IP Selection
Which FPGA Family Should I Use?
Refer to Table 1 to understand the Ethernet intellectual property (IP) core support for Agilex™, Stratix® 10, Arria® 10, and Cyclone® 10 devices. Compare between the four devices to select the right device for your Ethernet subsystem implementation.
Table 1 - Device and IP Core Support
Device Family |
Tile Type (Agilex™ 7 device only) |
IP Core |
Electrical Interface |
Forward Error Correction |
1588 Precision Time Protocol |
Auto Negotiation/ Link Training |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agilex™ 7 |
E-Tile |
100GBASE-KR4 100GBASE-CR4 CAUI-4 CAUI-2 25GBASE-KR 25GBASE-CR 25GBASE-R AUI 25GBASE-R Consortium Link 10GBASE-KR 10GBASE-CR 10G-XAUI *Modulation scheme supported: NRZ and PAM4 |
Reed Solomon (528, 514) Reed Solomon (544, 514) |
✓ |
✓ |
|
F-Tile |
10BASE-T 100BASE-T 1000BASE-T |
X |
✓ |
✓ |
||
F-Tile | NBASE-T | X
|
✓ | X | ||
F-Tile | NBASE-T |
|
✓ | ✓ | ||
F-Tile | NBASE-T | NA | ✓ | ✓ | ||
F-Tile | 25GBASE-R, 25GBASE-SR |
|
X | X | ||
F-Tile | 50GBASE-R2, 50GBASE-SR2 | X
|
X | X | ||
F-Tile | 100GBASE-R4, 100GBASE-SR4 |
|
X | X | ||
F-Tile | 10GBASE-KR, 10GBASE-CR *Modulation scheme supported: NRZ and PAM4 |
|
✓ | ✓ | ||
F-Tile |
10GBASE-KR, 10GBASE-CR, 10GBASE-R, 25GBASE-KR, 25GBASE-CR, 25GBASE-R AUI, 25GBASE-R Consortium Link, 40GBASEKR-4, 40GBASE-CR4, 40GBASE-SR4, 50GBASE-KR2, 50GBASE-CR2, 50GAUI-2, 50GAUI-1, 100GBASE-KR4 , 100GBASE-CR4, CAUI-4, CAUI-2, CAUI-1, 200GAUI-4 , 200GAUI-2 , 200GAUI-8, 400GAUI-8, 400GAUI-4 |
|
✓ | ✓ | ||
Device Family | IP Core | Electrical Interface | Forward Error Correction | 1588 Precision Time Protocol | Auto Negotiation / Link Training | |
Agilex™ 5 | 25GBASE-KR 25GAUI-1 25GBASE-CR 10GBASE-KR 10GBASE-CR 10GBASE-LR |
BASE-R Firecode (CL74) Reed-Solomon RS (528,514) (CL108) Ethernet Technology Consortium RS (528,514) |
✓ | ✓ | ||
10BASE-T 100BASE-T 1000BASE-T 1000BASE-X |
X | ✓ | ✓ | |||
10BASE-T 100BASE-T 1000BASE-T 1000BASE-X 10GBASE-R NBASE-T MGBASE-T |
X | ✓ | X | |||
NBASE-T MGBASE-T |
X | ✓ | ✓ | |||
40G-BASE-R4 | X | X | X | |||
Device Family |
IP Core | Electrical Interface | Forward Error Correction | 1588 Precision Time Protocol | Auto Negotiation / Link Training | |
Agilex™ 3 | 10GBASE-KR 10GBASE-CR 10GBASE-LR |
BASE-R Firecode (CL74) | ✓ | ✓ | ||
10BASE-T 100BASE-T 1000BASE-T 1000BASE-X |
X | ✓ | ✓ | |||
10BASE-T 100BASET 1000BASE-T 1000BASE-X 10GBASE-R NBASE-T MGBASE-T |
X | ✓ | X | |||
NBASE-T MGBASE-T |
X | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Device Family |
Tile Type (Stratix® 10 device only) |
IP Core |
Electrical Interface |
Forward Error Correction |
1588 Precision Time Protocol |
Auto Negotiation/ Link Training |
Stratix® 10 GX/SX/MX/TX/DX |
L-Tile and H-Tile |
10BASE-T 100BASET 1000BASE-T 1000BASE-X |
|
✓ |
✓ |
|
L-Tile and H-TIle |
10BASE-T 100BASET 1000BASE-T 1000BASE-X 10GBASE-R NBASE-T MGBASE-T |
Firecode FEC |
✓ |
✓ |
||
L-Tile and H-Tile |
10GBASE-R |
|||||
L-Tile and H-Tile |
10GBASE-KR PHY |
|||||
L-Tile and H-Tile |
1G/2.5G/5G/10G Multi-rate Ethernet PHY |
|||||
L-Tile and H-Tile |
Low Latency 40-Gbps Ethernet FPGA IP | 40G-BASE-R4 |
Firecode FEC |
|
✓ |
|
H-Tile |
FPGA H-Tile Hard IP for Ethernet |
50G-BASE-R2 100G-BASE-R4 |
|
|
✓ |
|
L-Tile and H-Tile |
25G Ethernet Stratix® 10 FPGA IP |
25GBASE-SR 10GBASE-R |
Reed Solomon (528, 514) |
✓ |
|
|
L-Tile and H-Tile |
Low Latency 100-Gbps Ethernet FPGA IP |
100G-BASE-R4 |
Reed Solomon (528, 514) |
|
|
|
E-Tile |
100GBASE-KR4 100GBASE-KR2 100GBASE-CR4 100GBASE-CR2 CAUI-4 CAUI-2 25GBASE-KR 25GBASE-CR 25GBASE-R AUI 25GBASE-R Consortium Link 10GBASE-KR 10GBASE-CR XAUI *Modulation scheme supported: NRZ and PAM4 |
Reed Solomon (528, 514) Reed Solomon (544, 514) |
✓ |
✓ |
||
Device Family |
IP Core |
Electrical Interface |
Forward Error Correction |
1588 Precision Time Protocol |
Auto Negotiation/ Link Training |
|
Arria® 10 GX/GT/SX |
10BASE-T 100BASET 1000BASE-T 1000BASE-X |
|
✓ |
✓ |
||
10BASE-T 100BASET 1000BASE-T 1000BASE-X 10GBASE-R NBASE-T MGBASE-T |
Firecode FEC |
✓ |
✓ |
|||
40G-BASE-R4 |
Firecode FEC |
✓ |
✓ |
|||
100G-BASE-R10 100G-BASE-R4 |
Reed Solomon (528, 514) |
✓ |
|
|||
25G-BASE-R1 |
Reed Solomon (528, 514) |
✓ |
|
|||
50G-BASE-R2 |
|
|
|
|||
Device Family |
IP Core |
Electrical Interface |
Forward Error Correction |
1588 Precision Time Protocol |
Auto Negotiation/ Link Training |
|
Cyclone® 10 LP/GX |
10BASE-T 100BASET 1000BASE-T 1000BASE-X |
|
✓ |
✓ |
||
10GBASE-R |
|
✓ |
|
Please refer to the respective user guides to understand and find out whether the various features listed in the table above are mutually exclusive. For example: FPGA IP for Low Latency 100 Gbps Ethernet (for Arria® 10 devices) does not allow you to enable the RS-FEC and 1588 PTP simultaneously.
2. Design Flow and IP Integration
Where Can I Find Information on IP Integration?
Refer to the Getting Started section of your chosen IP core user guide. You can also refer to the following documents for details:
Agilex™ Devices
- Agilex™ 7 F-Series and I-Series General-Purpose I/O User Guide
- Agilex™ 7 Configuration User Guide
- Agilex™ 5 FPGAs and SoCs General-Purpose I/O User Guide
- Agilex™ 5 Configuration User Guide
- Agilex™ 3 FPGAs and SoCs General-Purpose I/O User Guide
Stratix® 10 Devices
Arria® 10 Devices
- AN 735: FPGA Low Latency Ethernet 10G MAC IP Core Migration Guidelines
- AN 795: Implementing Guidelines for 10G Ethernet Subsystem Using Low Latency 10G MAC IP Core in Arria® 10 Devices
- AN 808: Migrating Guidelines from Arria® 10 to Stratix® 10 for 10G Ethernet Subsystem
Which Ethernet IP Core Should I Use?
FPGA IP for Ethernet
The FPGA IP for Ethernet portfolio contains various IP types to support data rates from 10 Mbps to 100 Gbps. Ethernet IP solutions encompass the Media Access Controller and PHY IP core, which includes both the physical medium attachment (PMA) and physical coding sublayer (PCS). For more information, refer to the following user guides:
Agilex™ Devices
- E-Tile Hard IP for Ethernet FPGA IP User Guide
- E-Tile Transceiver PHY User Guide
- E-Tile Channel Placement Tool
- Agilex™ 7 Device Data Sheet
- Agilex™ 5 Device Data Sheet
- Agilex™ 3 Device Data Sheet
Stratix® 10 Devices
- FPGA Triple Speed Ethernet IP Core User Guide
- FPGA Low Latency Ethernet 10G MAC IP Core User Guide
- Stratix® 10 1G/2.5G/5G/10G Multi-rate Ethernet PHY IP Core User Guide
- Stratix® 10 10GBASE-KR PHY IP Core User Guide
- Stratix® 10 Low Latency 40-Gbps Ethernet IP Core User Guide
- Stratix® 10 Low Latency 100-Gbps Ethernet IP Core User Guide
- Stratix® 10 E-Tile Hard IP for Ethernet FPGA IP User Guide
- Stratix® 10 E-Tile Transceiver PHY User Guide
- Stratix® 10 H-Tile Hard IP for Ethernet FPGA IP User Guide
- Stratix® 10 L- and H-Tile Transceiver PHY User Guide
- Stratix® 10 Device Datasheet
- E-Tile Channel Placement Tool
Arria® 10 Devices
- FPGA Triple Speed Ethernet IP Core User Guide
- FPGA Low Latency Ethernet 10G MAC IP Core User Guide
- 25 Gbps Ethernet IP Core User Guide
- 50 Gbps Ethernet IP Core User Guide
- Low Latency 40 Gbps Ethernet IP Core User Guide
- Low Latency 100 Gbps Ethernet IP Core User Guide
- Low Latency 40- and 100-Gbps Ethernet MAC and PHY MegaCore Function User Guide
Cyclone® 10 Devices
3. Board Design and Power Management
Pin Connection Guidelines
Agilex™ Devices
- Agilex™ 7 Device Family Pin Connection Guidelines
- Agilex™ 5 Device Family Pin Connection Guidelines
- Agilex™ 3 Device Family Pin Connection Guidelines
Stratix® 10 Devices
Arria® 10 Devices
Cyclone® 10 Devices
Schematic Review
Agilex™ Devices
Stratix® 10 Devices
Arria® 10 Devices
Cyclone® 10 Devices
Board Design Guidelines
- AN 886: Agilex™ 7 Device Design Guidelines
- Agilex™ 7 Power Management User Guide
- Agilex™ 7 Device Family High-Speed Serial Interface Signal Integrity Design Guidelines
- AN 910: Agilex™ 7 Power Distribution Network Design Guidelines
- Agilex™ 5 Power Management User Guide
- Agilex™ 5 FPGAs and SoCs PCB Design Guidelines (HSSI, EMIF, MIPI, True Differential, PDN)
- Agilex™ 5 Power Distribution Network Design Guidelines
- Agilex™ 3 FPGAs and SoC Device Design Guidelines
- Board Layout Test
- AN 766: Stratix® 10 Devices, High-Speed Signal Interface Layout Design Guideline
- AN 875: Stratix® 10 E-Tile PCB Design Guidelines
- AN 114: Board Design Guidelines for Programmable Device Packages
- AN 613: PCB Stackup Design Considerations for FPGAs
Thermal Power Guidelines
Power Sequencing Guidelines
4. Design Examples and Reference Designs
Agilex™ 7 Devices
- E-Tile Hard IP for Ethernet Agilex™ Devices
- Triple-Speed Ethernet IP
- F-Tile Triple-Speed Ethernet FPGA IP Design Example User Guide
- 10G Ethernet IP
- 25G Ethernet IP
- F-Tile Ethernet Hard IP
Stratix® 10 Devices
- Triple-Speed Ethernet
- 1G/2.5G Ethernet
- 10G Ethernet
- 40G Ethernet
- FPGA H-Tile Hard IP for Ethernet
- 100G Ethernet
- E-Tile Hard IP for Ethernet Stratix® 10
Arria® 10 Devices
- Triple-Speed Ethernet
- 10G Ethernet
- AN 699: Using the FPGA Ethernet Design Toolkit
- AN794: Arria® 10 Low Latency Ethernet 10G MAC and XAUI PHY Reference Design
- AN 701: Scalable Low Latency Ethernet 10G MAC using Arria® 10 1G/10G PHY
- AN 838: Interoperability between Arria® 10 NBASE-T Ethernet Solution with Aquantia Ethernet PHY Reference Design
- Arria® 10 SoC Scalable Multi-speed 10M-10G Ethernet Design Example
- Arria® 10 Scalable 10G Ethernet MAC + Native PHY with IEEE 1588v2 Design Example
5. Debug
Tools
Stratix® 10 Device Ethernet Link Inspector
Ethernet Link Inspector consists of two sub-tools:
- Link Monitor - Allows you to continuously monitor health of Ethernet link(s) between Stratix® 10 device and the link partner. Some of the key features you can monitor are: Link status summary (CDR lock, RX recovered frequency, lane alignment lock etc..) MAC packet statistics, FEC statistics etc.
- Link Analysis - Allows you to have transparency into the link bring up sequence (like Auto-negotiation, Link Training etc.) or any other event captured in the Signal Tap Logic Analyzer file. Configure & capture the Signal Tap Logic Analyzer file for given event and then use Link Analysis to import the captured event & study Stratix® 10 behavior during that event duration.
To access Ethernet Link Inspector for a specific Quartus® software version, please refer to the table below.
- For IP and Device support use model, refer to section ‘1.2 Supported IP Cores and Devices’ in the relevant Ethernet Link Inspector user guide.
Tool Files |
Quartus Software Version |
User Guide |
---|---|---|
Quartus® software 19.1 and above (L, H, and E-Tiles) |
||
Quartus® software 18.0 to 18.1.2 (L, H, and E-Tiles) |
Ethernet Link Inspector User Guide Archives for Ethernet Link Inspector Packages v4.1 and v1.1 | |
Quartus® software 17.1 and earlier (L and H-Tiles) |
Ethernet Link Inspector User Guide Archives for Ethernet Link Inspector Packages v4.1 and v1.1 |
Intellectual Property (IP) Core Release Notes
Agilex™ Devices
Stratix® 10 Devices
- FPGA Triple Speed Ethernet IP Core Release Notes
- FPGA Low Latency Ethernet 10G MAC IP Core Release Notes
- Stratix® 10 10GBASE-KR PHY Release Notes
- Stratix® 10 H-Tile Hard IP for Ethernet IP Core Release Notes
- Stratix® 10 Low Latency 40-Gbps Ethernet IP Core Release Notes
- Stratix® 10 Low Latency 100-Gbps Ethernet IP Core Release Notes
- Stratix® 10 E-Tile Hard IP for Ethernet FPGA IP Release Notes
Arria® 10 Devices
- FPGA Triple Speed Ethernet IP Core Release Notes
- FPGA Low Latency Ethernet 10G MAC IP Core Release Notes
- 1G/10G and Backplane Ethernet 10GBASE-KR PHY Release Notes
- 1G/2.5G/5G/10G Multi-rate Ethernet PHY IP Core Release Notes
- 25G Ethernet IP Core Release Notes
- Low Latency 40Gbps Ethernet IP Core Release Notes
- Low Latency 100-Gbps Ethernet IP Core Release Notes
Cyclone® 10 Devices
- FPGA Triple Speed Ethernet IP Core Release Notes
- FPGA Low Latency Ethernet 10G MAC IP Core Release Notes
Fault Tree Analysis Guides
Knowledge Base Solutions
Agilex™ Devices
Stratix® 10 Devices
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for Triple Speed Ethernet)
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for Low Latency Ethernet 10G MAC)
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for 1G/2.5G/5G/10G Ethernet Multi-rate PHY)
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for 25G Ethernet)
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for Low Latency 40 Gbps Ethernet)
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for Low Latency 100 Gbps Ethernet)
Arria® 10 Devices
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for Triple-Speed Ethernet)
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for Low Latency Ethernet 10G MAC)
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for 1G/10G and Backplane Ethernet 10GBASE-KR PHY)
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for 1G/2.5G/5G/10G Ethernet Multi-rate PHY)
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for 25G Ethernet)
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for Low Latency 40 Gbps Ethernet)
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for Low Latency 100 Gbps Ethernet)
Cyclone® 10 Devices
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for Triple Speed Ethernet)
- Search the Knowledge Base (FPGA IP for Low Latency Ethernet 10G MAC)
FPGA Technical Training
6. Training Courses and Videos
FPGA Quick Videos
Topic |
Description |
---|---|
Learn about new 1588 system-level reference design using both the FPGA IP for 10G Ethernet MAC with 10G BaseR PHY and software, which includes the PTP stack LinuxPTPv1.5, a preloader, a 10 Gbps Ethernet MAC driver, and a PTP driver. |
|
Debug Techniques for an FPGA Nios® II Ethernet Design - Part 1 |
Learn about debugging techniques for Ethernet or Nios II processor designs. |
Debug Techniques for an FPGA Nios II Ethernet Design - Part 2 |
Learn about debugging techniques for Ethernet or Nios II processor designs. |
How to Debug FPGA Triple Speed Ethernet Auto Negotiation Issue |
Learn how to use auto negotiation for synchronizing Ethernet peripherals. |
Learn how to debug triple-speed Ethernet link synchronization issues. |
|
How to Migrate FPGA Triple Speed Ethernet to Arria® 10 Devices in Quartus® Software |
Learn how to migrate IP cores to the Arria® 10 FPGA family using the FPGA IP for Triple-Speed Ethernet as an example. |
Migration from legacy 10G Ethernet MAC IP to the new low latency 10G Ethernet MAC IP |
Learn about the FPGA IP for Low Latency 10G Ethernet MAC and how to migrate from the legacy FPGA IP for 10G Ethernet MAC. |
Learn how to use the Ethernet features under the UEFI Shell after booting to the DXE phase. |
|
Scalable 10G MAC + 1G/10G PHY with 1588 Design Example Hardware Demo |
Watch a demonstration on the FPGA IP for 10G Ethernet MAC and the FPGA IP for 1G/10G PHY with the IEEE 1588 feature. Learn how to perform the design hardware test and how to modify the hardware tcl script to specify the purpose of the test. |