
W89C880F FastMPR
- 18 -
extension port functions extend the distance between two 100BaseTX repeaters and partition the
traffic and collisions among Fast Ethernet hubs. The extension port function is optional; the default
setting is enabled. The extension port can also be disabled so that it functions as a normal port. To
disable the extension port, place a 10K ohm pull-high resistor on the pin TP5RPT/DISBG, and power
it on. When the extension port is disabled, the extension port MII interface acts as a normal MII port.
The extension port function is described below.
Frame Buffer Interface
The extension port provides three types of SRAM interfaces, 32K
×
8, 64K
×
8, and 128K
×
8 SRAM,
and two optional SRAM buffer sizes, 64K bytes and 128K bytes. The default SRAM buffer size is 64
KB, and the default SRAM interface is 32 KB
×
8.
The SRAM buffer size and SRAM interface are programmable and are controlled by
TP6RPT/SRAMsel0 and TP7RPT/SRAMsel1, respectively. If a 10K ohm pull-high resistor is
connected to the pin TP6RPT/SRAMsel0, the SRAM buffer size will be 128 KB; otherwise, it is 64 KB.
If a 10K ohm pull-high resistor is connected to the pin TP7RPT/SRAMsel1, the SRAM buffer interface
will support one SRAM chip; otherwise, it will support two chips. The combinations permitted are
listed in the table below.
TP6RPT
64 KB
TP6RPT +10K
128 KB
TP7RPT
TP7RPT +10K
Buffer size
Buffer interface
2s SRAM
1 SRAM
SRAM Configuration Table
Store and Forward
If enabled, the extension port will store packets in the buffer when the network segment on the other
side of the extension port is busy. Once a complete packet is received and the opposing network
segment is quiet, the packet will be forwarded. While the packet is being forwarded, any collision will
abort the operation and force the FastMPR to enter a backoff period. When the backoff time has
elapsed, the extension port reattempts to transmit the packet until the operation is successful or the
backoff time is truncated. If the buffer is empty and the opposing network is quiet, the packet
transmitted will pass directly through the port and will not be stored in the SRAM buffer.
Not all packets can be forwarded; forwarding depends on the contents of the address filtering table. If
the destination node, which has registered its address to the extension port, is located on the same
side as the source node, the packet will not be stored and forwarded.
Fragment-free Window
The extension port directly forwards a packet if the length of the received packet exceeds the value
set in the fragment-free window and if the opposed network segment is quiet. Otherwise, the packet
will be stored in the buffer.
The fragment-free function discards bad packets caused by a CRC error, alignment error, or receive
error, long packets (longer than 1518 bytes), and runt packets caused by collision events.
Learning and Filtering
The extension port provides two internal hash tables with 128 address entries each for learning and
filtering. One table is used for the source address, and the other for the destination address. After
power on, the extension port resets the two address tables and starts to fill the address table by
extracting the source address and the destination address from the received packet through a
mapping function. About 40 minutes after power on, the FastMPR begins the address filter function.