KR100261574B1 - Ethernet communication - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An Ethernet communication device is provided to increase degree of integration by sharing a timer with an auto negotiation receive unit and a normal link pulse receive unit. CONSTITUTION: An auto negotiation arbitration unit generates a control signal corresponding to a special communication mode. An auto negotiation transmission unit outputs information in FLP(Fast Link Pulse) mode in accordance with the control signal from the auto negotiation arbitration unit. An auto negotiation receive unit extracts data from external FLP in accordance with the control signal from the auto negotiation arbitration unit and internal timer output. A normal link pulse receive unit selects communication mode by monitoring a normal link pulse in accordance with a timer, when the signal from the auto negotiation arbitration unit is a normal link pulse. A normal link pulse control unit controls, so that the output of external timer is transmitted to the normal link pulse receive unit, while maintaining the status of the auto negotiation receive unit to the status of selecting input signal before the input signal of the auto negotiation receive unit is determined as a fast link pulse.

Description

Ethernet communication device

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an Ethernet communication apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an Ethernet communication apparatus adapted to improve the density by sharing a timer used in an auto-negotiation receiver and a normal link pulse receiver.

In general, currently used Ethernet communication devices use an auto-negotiation function that automatically detects another user's Ethernet communication method connected to the Ethernet network and adjusts its setting. This auto-negotiation is defined in IEEE 802.3u, and it is applied to Ethernet network using TWISTED PAIL cable, and the communication method currently used in Ethernet network is 100 base-Tex full duplex. (100BASE-TX FULL DUPLEX), 100BASE-TX HALF DUPLEX, 100BASE-TX FULL DUPLEX, 100BASE-TEX FULL DUPLEX, 10BASE-TX FULL DUPLEX, 10BASE-TX half duplex (10BASE-TX HALF DUPLEX) is used, and will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, such a conventional Ethernet communication apparatus.

1 is a block diagram of an auto-negotiation unit in a conventional Ethernet communication apparatus, and includes an auto-negotiation arbitration unit 100 for outputting a control signal corresponding to a specific communication method as shown in the figure; An auto-negotiation transfer unit 200 for outputting information to be transmitted in the form of a fast link pulse (FLP) (FLP) according to the control of the auto-negotiation arbitration unit 100; The autonegotiation receiving unit 300 is configured to extract data from the FLP received from the outside under the control of the autonegotiation arbitration unit 100.

When communicating with other users using an Ethernet communication device including the auto-negotiation unit having the above-described configuration, and in case the other user's Ethernet communication device supports auto-negotiation, By comparing the communication methods, it is possible to set mutually high priority communication.

In this case, when the Ethernet communication apparatus used by the other user does not support autonegotiation, a normal link pulse receiving unit (NLP) receives and processes normal link pulses (NLP) as shown in FIG. 400 to perform communication.

Each of the units shown in FIG. 2 is provided with a timer that divides and uses a predetermined clock signal, and operates according to the output of each timer.

That is, Figure 3 shows the names of the timers used in each of the parts (100 to 400), each part 100 to 400 includes a plurality of timers to suit the purpose of use.

If the communication method used by the other party implements an auto-negotiation unit that supports 10BASE-T, which does not support auto-negotiation, each unit (100-400) may be divided by dividing a clock of 25 MHz or 20 MHz. Communication is enabled by implementing the timer used in the.

4 is a state diagram according to the internal configuration of the auto-negotiation receiving unit 300. As shown in FIG. 4, the initial state of the Ethernet communication device is received by receiving a connection, whether the communication device of the other party supports auto-negotiation. An initial state determining unit 310 for determining a state; A link pulse detector 320 and a link pulse counter 330 for determining whether the received signal is an FLP when the initial state is determined from the initial state determiner 310; A pass unit 340 for deleting the first FLP from among the FLPs and outputting the FLP information when the signal received from the link pulse counter 330 is inputted; A standard inspecting unit 350 which checks whether an interval of the FLP applied from the pass unit 340 satisfies a standard; A capture unit 360 for confirming that the FLP to recover data is received when the inspection result of the specification inspecting unit 350 satisfies the specification; A FLP clock unit 370, a first FLP data unit 380, and a second FLP data unit 390 which separate clock signals and data from the received FLP and finally obtain data.

5 is a state diagram according to the internal configuration of the normal link pulse receiver 400, and as shown therein, an NLP initialization unit 410 for initializing a current state; An NLP test unit 420 and an NLP counter 430 for determining whether the received signal is NLP and counting it; An NLP extension unit 440 for checking whether a signal is transmitted or received; An NLP pass unit 450 for checking whether the 10 base-T link is normal and performing continuous monitoring when there is a signal transmitted and received; The control unit 460 is configured to control the operation of the NLP initialization unit 410 according to an external control signal.

The operation of the conventional Ethernet communication apparatus having the above configuration will be described.

First, in a process in which a user connects to another user using an Ethernet communication device and receives specific data, the initial state determination unit 310 inputs whether an Ethernet communication device is connected and whether the other device supports autonegotiation. It determines the initial state of Ethernet communication device.

Next, the link pulse detector 320 and the link pulse counter 330 determine whether the signal of the connected other Ethernet communication device is FLP when the initial state is determined from the initial state determiner 310. In this case, when the determination result is not the FLP, the link pulse detection unit 320 limits the output signal, determines whether the FLP is continuously input, and outputs a signal indicating that the FLP is received when the FLP is received. .

Next, the pass unit 340, which has received the information of FLP, which is the output of the link pulse counter 330, deletes the first pulse among the FLPs, and then outputs the remaining FLPs.

Next, the standard inspecting unit 350 checks whether the interval of the FLP processed by the pass unit 340 satisfies the standard, and controls the operation of the initial state determining unit 310 if the test result does not satisfy the standard. If the standard is met, the FLP is output to the next stage.

Next, the capture unit 360, which has received the FLP that satisfies the specification from the standard inspecting unit 350, notifies the FLP clock unit 370 of the next stage that the FLP to recover data is received, and the FLP clock unit In operation 370, the first FLP data unit 380 and the second FLP data unit 390 separate clock and data from the received FLP to obtain final received data.

In this process, the link pulse detector 320, the pass unit 340, the standard inspection unit 350, the capture unit 360, and the FLP clock unit 370 use a timer having a specific value to operate the timer. Therefore, it will perform its own operation.

As described above, when the signal received from the outside is FLP, the data is separated from the FLP received by the auto negotiation receiver 300, but when the NLP is received, the NLP initialization unit of the normal link pulse receiver 400 It is checked whether the signals inputted from the NLP test unit 420 and the NLP counter 430 whose state is initialized by 410 are NLP, counts when the signal is NLP, and whether there is a signal transmitted or received by the NLP extension unit 440. There is constant monitoring. In addition, when there is a signal transmitted and received, the NLP path unit 450 determines that the communication method of the other Ethernet communication device is 10 base-T, and performs continuous monitoring. This process is controlled by the enable controller 460 that controls the operation of the NLP initialization unit 410 according to an external control signal.

In this case, the NLP counter 430, the NLP test unit 420, and the NLP path unit 450 provided in the normal link pulse receiver 400 each have a plurality of timers, and a specific operation is determined according to the output of each timer. do.

Through this process, it is possible to know the communication method of the other user's currently connected Ethernet communication device, and if the communication method supports auto-negotiation, the priority is determined and the method of high priority is determined. In order to exchange data with another Ethernet communication device using a method that does not support autonegotiation, a normal link pulse receiver 400 is provided to transmit and receive data in a manner corresponding to the communication method of the other party. .

As described above, the conventional Ethernet communication apparatus has an auto-negotiation receiver and a normal link pulse receiver in order to perform a smooth transmission / reception operation regardless of the communication method of other connected Ethernet communication apparatuses. There was a problem in that the integration degree is reduced by separately provided.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an Ethernet communication apparatus for sharing a timer between an auto-negotiation receiver and a normal link pulse receiver.

1 is a block diagram of a conventional Ethernet communication apparatus.

2 is a block diagram of a conventional Ethernet communication apparatus including a normal link pulse receiver.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an Ethernet communication device in which timers used in respective units are shown in FIG. 2; FIG.

4 is a block diagram of an auto-negotiation receiving section in FIG.

5 is a block diagram of a normal link pulse receiving unit in FIG. 2; FIG.

6 is a block diagram of an Ethernet communication device of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of the autonegotiation receiving section in Fig. 6;

8 is a block diagram of a normal link pulse receiving section in FIG. 6;

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

100: Auto Negotiation Arbitration Unit 200: Auto Negotiation Delivery Unit

300: auto negotiation receiver 310: initial state determination unit

320: link pulse detection unit 330: link pulse counter

340: Pass section 350: Standard inspection section

360: Capture unit 370: FLP clock unit

380, 390: first and second FLP data unit 400: normal link pulse receiving unit

410: NLP initialization unit 420: NLP test unit

430: NLP counter 440: NLP extension

450: NLP pass section 460: Enable control section

500: Timer 600: NLP control unit

The above object is an auto-negotiation arbitration unit for outputting a control signal corresponding to a specific communication method; An auto-negotiation transfer unit for outputting information to be transmitted in the form of a fast link pulse under the control of the auto-negotiation arbitration unit; An auto-negotiation receiver for extracting data from an FLP received from the outside according to the control of the auto-negotiation arbitration unit and a plurality of timer outputs provided therein; In the Ethernet communication apparatus comprising a normal link pulse receiving unit for determining the communication method by monitoring the normal link pulse in accordance with the internal timer output when the signal input through the auto-negotiation arbitration unit, the normal This is achieved by further including an external timer shared by the link pulse receiver and the auto-negotiation receiver, which will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an Ethernet communication apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, a predetermined operation time is designated to a normal link pulse receiver 400 and an auto-negotiation receiver 300 in the configuration shown in FIG. The timer 500 further includes a timer in the interior of the normal link pulse receiver 400, and reduces the number of timers provided in the auto-negotiation receiver 300.

FIG. 7 is a state diagram according to the internal configuration of the auto-negotiation receiving unit 300 in FIG. 6, and as shown therein, the link pulse in the configuration of the conventional auto-negotiation receiving unit 300 shown in FIG. The NLP control unit 600 further controls the state of the NLP between the counter 330 and the pass unit 340.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the normal link pulse receiving unit 400 in FIG. 6, so that the enable control unit 460 controls the operation of the entire circuit according to the output of each unit 410 to 450 as shown in FIG. The NLP counter 430, the NLP test unit 420, and the NLP pass unit 450, which operate using a timer, do not have a timer therein and operate by receiving an output of an external timer 500.

Hereinafter, the operation of the present invention configured as described above will be described in detail.

First, in a process in which a user connects to another user using an Ethernet communication device and receives specific data, the initial state determination unit 310 inputs whether an Ethernet communication device is connected and whether the other device supports autonegotiation. In order to determine the initial state of the Ethernet communication device, the link pulse detection unit 320 and the link pulse counter 330 receives the signal of the other connected Ethernet communication device received when the initial state is determined from the initial state determination unit 310 Determine if it is FLP. In this case, when the determination result is not the FLP, the link pulse detection unit 320 limits the output signal, determines whether the FLP is continuously input, and outputs a signal indicating that the FLP is received when the FLP is received. .

Then, the NLP control unit 600 receiving the output signal of the link pulse counter 330 blocks the further operation when it is determined that the input signal is not FLP, the state of the link pulse detector 320 The normal link pulse receiving unit 400 is operated.

As such, the normal link pulse receiver 400 is operated. That is, the output of the timer 500 is applied to the normal link pulse receiver 400 to perform an operation according to the output of the timer 500.

Next, the pass unit 340, which receives the information that the input signal is the FLP, outputs the link pulse counter 330, deletes the first pulse among the FLPs, and then outputs the remaining FLPs.

Next, the standard inspecting unit 350 checks whether the interval of the FLP processed by the pass unit 340 satisfies the standard, and controls the operation of the initial state determining unit 310 if the test result does not satisfy the standard. If the standard is met, the FLP is output to the next stage.

Next, the capture unit 360, which has received the FLP that satisfies the specification from the standard inspecting unit 350, notifies the FLP clock unit 370 of the next stage that the FLP to recover data is received, and the FLP clock unit In operation 370, the first FLP data unit 380 and the second FLP data unit 390 separate clock and data from the received FLP to obtain final received data.

In this process, the link pulse detector 320, the pass unit 340, the standard inspection unit 350, the capture unit 360, and the FLP clock unit 370 use the timer 500 having a specific value. The operation of the timer is to perform a unique operation.

In this process, the timer used by the auto-negotiation receiver 300 and the timer used by the normal link pulse receiver 400 share the same timer with an external timer 500. . That is, each unit 410 to 440 provided in the normal link pulse receiving unit 400 outputs a corresponding signal to the enable control unit 460 when a specific signal is not input from the timer 500. The link pulse receiving unit 400 is controlled to not operate.

As described above, the Ethernet communication apparatus of the present invention has an effect of improving the degree of integration by using a timer having the same setting value among the internal timer of the auto-negotiation receiver and the internal timer of the normal link pulse receiver by sharing an external timer. .

Claims (2)

An auto-negotiation arbitration unit for outputting a control signal corresponding to a specific communication method; An auto-negotiation transfer unit for outputting information to be transmitted in the form of a fast link pulse under the control of the auto-negotiation arbitration unit; An auto-negotiation receiver for extracting data from an FLP received from the outside according to the control of the auto-negotiation arbitration unit and a plurality of timer outputs provided therein; In the Ethernet communication apparatus comprising a normal link pulse receiving unit for determining the communication method by monitoring the normal link pulse in accordance with the internal timer output when the signal input through the auto-negotiation arbitration unit, the normal And an external timer shared by the link pulse receiver and the autonegotiation receiver. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the auto-negotiation receiver sets the state of the auto-negotiation receiver to determine an input signal before the input signal is determined to be a fast link pulse, and the output of the external timer is a normal link pulse. Ethernet communication device comprising a normal link pulse control unit for controlling to be applied to the receiver.