1000- - Auto-negotiation method for high speed link in gigabit ethernet using 1000base-t standard and apparatus thereof

The present invention relates to high-speed Ethernet (Ethernet), and in particular, an automatic-negotiation method and automatic-for high-speed links in Gigabit Ethernet utilizing the 1000 BASE-T standard. Regarding negotiation equipment.

[0002] Generally, Ethernet is a model of a network used for a LAN (Local Area Network) of an information communication network provided in a specific area, and is an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers). Refers to the coaxial cable network adopted by Engineers). Nowadays, Gigabit Ethernet is widely used as Ethernet becomes faster. Gigabit Ethernet is defined by IEEE802.3, and in particular, the 1000Base-T standard is one of the standard protocols using coaxial cables and defines the IEEE802.3ab specification. Among the functions of Gigabit Ethernet, the auto-negotiation (hereinafter referred to as AN) function is indispensably added for the transmission device, that is, the link between the remote station (remote) and the main station (local). Is used. That is, the AN function is a function that determines the communication speed and operation mode between the partner station and the main station before the link is formed between the partner station and the main station, and can perform communication based on this. With Gigabit Ethernet, that is, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, which is not 1000 Mbps, the communication speed and mode could be determined by the parallel detection function even if the main station did not have the AN function. Here, the parallel detection function means that when a device that does not use the AN function and a device that uses the AN function are connected to each other, the device that does not use the AN function detects that it is in the normal transmission mode and is in the normal mode. A function that is automatically converted to. However, in the case of Ethernet with a speed of 1000 Mbps, the communication speed and mode between transmission devices must be determined by the AN function. In Gigabit Ethernet, a master / slave (Master / Slave: hereinafter abbreviated as M / S) function has been added. That is, since one of the devices connected to each other must play the role of master and the other one must play the role of slave, the AN function is indispensably used.

[0003] FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining a transmission process among the AN methods in high-speed Ethernet using the conventional 1000-based-T standard. As shown in Figure 1, traditionally, in order to perform the AN function with the 1000 base-T standard, it is necessary to go through five page transmission steps between transmission devices. Specifically, the transmission device transmits a base page (Base Page: hereinafter referred to as BP) indicating the communication standard and the basic communication speed after the initial reset (100th stage) (110th stage). A message page (Message Page:) informing that 1000 Mbps transmission is possible after the 110th stage and that two unformatted messages (hereinafter referred to as UP) will be transmitted thereafter. Hereinafter referred to as MP) is transmitted (120th stage). At this time, the message represented by MP generally indicates a predetermined number, for example, "8". That is, the message "8" indicates that two UPs will be transmitted thereafter. After that, the transmission device transmits UP1 and UP2 (stages 130 and 140) and a null page (NP) (stage 150). Here, UP1 is information including an operating speed, an operating mode, a device form, a duplex mode, and the like. In addition, UP2 is information including a random seed value. Through these processes, a link between the two transmission devices is formed, and the AN function ends (stage 160).

[0004] FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a reception process among the AN methods in high-speed Ethernet using the conventional 1000-base-T standard. With reference to FIG. 2, as in the transmission process, the link is formed and the AN is terminated after receiving the five page information in the reception process. Also, the message page shows the same integer "8" as when it was sent.

[0005] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the currently proposed IEEE802.3ab standard analyzes transmitted and received message pages and enables 1000M transmission. If judged, it is decided that a normal link will be formed between the devices after transmitting the two UP1, UP2 and NP. However, when the port forms between the transmission devices are different, the operation mode and operation speed can be determined only by UP1. That is, conventionally, even when UP2 is unnecessary, it is realized that UP2 is transmitted and AN is completed, so that there is a problem that the link formation time of AN by the transmission of UP2 is extended.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to increase the link speed during the AN function by using a message page in a specific state that is not used in the 1000BASE-T standard, and is a high speed in Gigabit Ethernet. To provide an AN method for links.

[0007] Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide an AN apparatus for performing high-speed linking in the above Gigabit Ethernet.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The AN method for high-speed linking in Gigabit Ethernet using the 1000-based-T standard according to the present invention includes a first transmission device and a second transmission in which data is transmitted. The AN method for forming a link with the device includes steps (a) to (g). In the (a) step, the transmission state machine and the reception state machine of the first transmission device and the second transmission device are initialized. In step (b), a base page indicating communication capability is transmitted and received between the first transmission device and the second transmission device. In step (c), after sending and receiving the base page, a message page showing the 1000 Mbps communication capacity and the message state of the specific state for the first and second transmission devices is sent and received. In step (d), the first UP indicating the operating speed, operating mode, and port form of the transmission device is transmitted and received. Step (e) determines whether the M / S of the transmission device can be determined from the 1st UP. In step (f), if it is judged that M / S can be determined, NP is transmitted and received after the first UP. In step (g), after NP transmission / reception, a link between the transmission devices is formed and AN is terminated.

[0009] The AN apparatus for high-speed linking in Gigabit Ethernet utilizing the 1000-based-T standard according to the present invention forms a link between a first transmission device and a second transmission device through which data is transmitted. The AN device for this purpose includes an arbiter unit, a state control unit, an M / S determination unit, and a register unit. The arbiter section is provided in the first and second transmission devices, and links the transmission devices using the page information transmitted between the first and second transmission devices. The state control unit controls the transmission state machine that controls the transmission state of the page information requested by the AN, which is transmitted through the arbiter unit, and the reception state machine that controls the reception state of the page information received from the transmission device of the other party. It is equipped and controls to send and receive a message page in a specific state when trying to transmit at a speed of 1000 Mbps. The M / S determination unit determines the M / S from the page information transmitted between the first transmission device and the second transmission device. The register unit stores page information transmitted and received between the first transmission device and the second transmission device.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings relating to an AN method for high-speed linking in Gigabit Ethernet utilizing the 1000-based-T standard according to the present invention and a device for performing this, the following I will explain as follows.

[0011] FIG. 3 shows an apparatus to which the AN method for high-speed linking in Gigabit Ethernet according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied. The AN device of FIG. 3 can be said to be a physical layer chip provided inside the transmission device via Ethernet, and includes an arbiter unit 300, an M / S determination unit 310, a state control unit 350, and a register unit 390.

[0012] The transmission device having the AN device shown in FIG. 3 may be each personal computer (hereinafter, abbreviated as PC), or may be a hub switch or backbone switch that switches according to the speed of each personal computer.

[0013] The arbitrator unit 300 plays a role of arbitrating line switching according to the communication speed and mode with the transmission device of the partner station. That is, the arbiter unit 300 is provided in both the transmission device of the main station and the transmission device of the partner station, and links the transmission devices by using the page information transmitted and received between the transmission devices. The arbiter unit 300 also performs an AN function for links between transmission devices over Ethernet that supports 1000 Mbps speeds.

[0014] The register unit 390 stores page information transmitted from the transmission device, that is, each information such as BP, MP, UP1 and UP2, and stores page information received from the transmission device of the partner station. The register unit 390 is composed of registers 391 to 39n, and the above page information is appropriately stored in the corresponding registers 391 to 39n of the register unit 390. Further, the above page information refers to a high-speed link pulse (Fast Link Pulse: hereinafter referred to as FLP) transmitted and received for a link between both transmission devices capable of transmitting at a speed of 1000 Mbps. Specifically, 16-bit data excluding the clock signal from the FLP is shown. Here, FLP consists of a large number of normal link pulses (hereinafter referred to as NLP), and indicates the communication capability of each device. The information on each page will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0015] The M / S determination unit 310 determines whether the operation mode of the transmission device serves as a master or a slave. That is, the M / S determination unit 310 determines the priority of the transmission device by UP1 or UP2. In order to perform such a function, the M / S determination unit 310 is composed of a first M / S seed 320, a second M / S seed 330, and an M / S determination unit 340. The first M / S seed 320 stores a random seed value transmitted to an external transmission device through the UP2. The second M / S seed 330 stores a random seed value received from the partner station device. Here, the random seed value is an arbitrary value for determining the M / S between each device, and is transmitted and received by UP2. The M / S determination unit 340 determines the M / S between transmission devices by the random seed value transmitted / received by UP1 or UP2. For example, when the port types of both transmission devices are the same, the random seed value stored in the 1st M / S seed 320 and the random seed value stored in the 2nd M / S seed 330 are compared to obtain the M / S. decide. Further, when the port forms of both transmission devices are different, the M / S determination unit 340 determines the M / S by UP1.

[0016] The state control unit 350 receives the page information received from the transmission (TX) state machine 360 that controls the transmission state of the page information requested by the AN and the transmission device of the other party, which is transmitted through the arbiter unit 300. It includes a receive (RX) state machine 370 that controls the state. In particular, the state control unit 350 controls to send and receive MP in a specific state when trying to transmit at a speed of 1000 Mbps. The above page information is BP, MP, UP, NP, etc. When applied to the present invention, UP in FIG. 3 can also include UP1 and UP2, and may be UP1. The TX state machine 360 transmits the page information stored in the register unit 390 to the partner station transmission device through the arbiter unit 300, and loads and transmits the page information to be transmitted thereafter from the register unit 390. The RX state machine 370 stores the page information received from the outside through the arbiter unit 300 in the register unit 390. Here, the TX state machine 360 not only reads the value set in each register by the system design method, that is, each information bit related to the corresponding page information, but also changes the value set in each register by software. it can.

4 (a) to 4 (c) are diagrams for explaining the structure of page information transmitted and received by the AN method according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 (a) is a diagram showing BP. 4 (b) shows MP, and Fig. 4 (c) shows UP1 and UP2.

[0018] With reference to FIG. 4 (a), the BP contains basic communication speed information, for example, a communication capacity indicating whether or not 10M / 100M transmission can be performed and information indicating whether or not 1000M transmission can be performed. Specifically, S0 to S4 included in D0 to D4 in FIG. 4A indicate a selector area, which is an area for selecting which protocol to use. For example, when the selector area is expressed as 00001, it can be indicated that the protocol according to the IEEE802.3 standard is used. In addition, A0 to A7 are information areas and indicate the communication capability of the device. That is, A0 to A7 indicate that data is transmitted between devices at a speed of 10M or 100M. D13 to D15 indicate the page state area. That is, the RF bit stored in D13 is a bit for displaying an error when there is an error in the receiving device, and ACK (Acknowledge) indicates the approval result for the received information. In addition, the NPB (next page bit) of D15 is the page to be transmitted later, that is, the next page (NP; Next). It is used to indicate if there is a Page) and to determine if 1000M transmission is possible. For example, if there is an NP to transmit, it can be determined that 1000M transmission is possible.

[0019] Such an NP is an indispensable function in 1000M operation, and is effective only when both devices to be transmitted have an NP transmission function. Here, NP indicates a page for transmitting additional information, and there are two types, MP and UP. Also, NP is added to determine the M / S between transmission devices on Ethernet operating at 1000M.

[0020] With reference to FIG. 4 (b), the MP is composed of an 11-bit message area from M0 to M10 stored in D0 to D11 and a page state area from D11 to D15. MP is defined by the standard of IEEE802.3ab, and the message area contains communication capability information that the transmission device can operate at 1000M and information that two UPs are transmitted. D11 in FIG. 4 (b) shows the state in which each bit information changes in the corresponding page, that is, the toggle state (TOGGLE), and D12 and D14 show the approval information for the received message. For example, ACK indicates approval information for BP, and ACK2 indicates approval information for NP. The MPB of D13 indicates whether or not the page currently transmitted is MP. If it is 1, it indicates that it is MP, and if it is 0, it indicates that it is not MP. The next page bit (NPB) of D15 is set to 1 if there is an NP to be transmitted later, and set to 0 if there is no NP to be transmitted later. In the present invention, a link can be formed without transmitting UP2 by using a specific state of the MP message area that is not currently used in the 1EEE802.3ab standard. A more specific state of MP will be described more specifically with reference to FIG.

[0021] With reference to FIG. 4 (c), the configurations of UP1 and UP2 are composed of the information regions of U0 to U10 stored in D0 to D10 and the page state regions of D11 to D15. In the case of UP1, the information area includes the operating speed, operating mode, device form, dual communication method, and the like of the transmission device. For example, the operating speed indicates whether it can operate at 1000M, and the operating mode indicates whether it acts as a master or a slave. Further, the device form indicates whether it is a multi-port or a single port. The duplex method indicates whether it is half-duplex transmission (HALF DUPLEX) or full-duplex transmission (FULL DUPLEX). On the other hand, in the case of UP2, a random seed value is stored in the information area. In the case of UP1 and UP2, the page state areas D11 to D15 show the same information as the MP state area.

[0022] FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a transmission process among the AN methods for high-speed linking on Ethernet utilizing the 1000-based-T standard according to the present invention. That is, the process shown in FIG. 5 is performed on the TX state machine shown in FIG. For convenience of explanation, the AN method will be described with reference to the AN apparatus of FIG. When a transmission device such as a personal computer or hub switch is initially powered or a new link is determined, the TX state machine 360 is reset (stage 500). Generally, the AN function is an operating system (OPERATING SYSTEM:) when booting a computer. Hereafter, it is terminated before the OS) is performed. In the 500th stage, the TX state machine 360 transmits the BP shown in FIG. 4 (a) in order to perform the AN function when the TX state machine 360 is reset (stage 510, TX (1)). At this time, if the NPB of BP is 1, it indicates that the transmission capacity ABL can transmit at a speed of 1000M. However, at this time, if NPB is set to 0 in the BP received from the transmission device of the partner station, the TX state machine 360 determines that the transmission capacity of the partner station is 10M or 100M, which is not 1000M, and does not perform page transmission. Form a link with the partner station.

As described above, the TX state machine 360 transmits the BP shown in FIG. 5 (a), and if it receives the BP having an NPB of 1 from the partner station, it transmits the MP (stage 520, TX (2)). ). In the present invention, a message in a specific state is included in the MP message areas M0 to M10 and transmitted. A concrete example is shown in FIG.

[0024] In FIG. 6, FIG. 6 (a) shows the MP used in the general IEEE802.3ab standard, and FIG. 6 (b) shows the MP used in the present invention. That is, referring to FIG. 6A, it can be seen that the message areas M0 to M10 represent an integer "8" and are expressed as 0000001000 in binary. However, in the present invention, a message indicating an integer "16" is used, that is, a state not used in the IEEE802.3ab standard. The message areas M0 to M10 in Fig. 6 (b) are expressed as 0000010000. At this time, since FIG. 6 (b) is MP, the message page bit (MPB) in the state area is set to 1. After that, UP1 is transmitted as NP, so NPB of MP is set to 1. If the state of MP received from the partner station transmission device indicates 8, then AN is performed in the same manner as the conventional transmission process shown in FIG.

[0025] In the 520th stage, the MP indicating 16 is transmitted, and if the MP indicating 16 is received, the TX state machine 360 transmits UP1 (stage 530, TX (3)). That is, if an MP having the same message as the transmitted message is received, the TX state machine 360 determines that UP2 is not transmitted after UP1. At this time, the NPB of UP1 is set to 1, and the transmission capacity ABL appearing in the information area indicates that 1000M transmission is possible. Also, since UP1 is not MP, MPB is set to 0. At this time, the M / S determination unit 340 in FIG. 3 determines whether the M / S can be determined from the transmitted UP1 and the UP1 received from the partner station (stage 540). If it is determined that the M / S can be determined in stage 540, the TX state machine 360 sends an NP (stage 560, TX (5)). Here, whether or not the M / S can be determined by UP1 can be determined by the type of device among the information stored in the information area of UP1. That is, if both transmission devices to which data is transmitted are multi-ports or both are single ports, the M / S cannot be determined from UP1. Table 1 below shows the criteria by which M / S can be determined.

[0026] [Table 1]<img file="JP3913552B2_D0001.tif" />[0027] Referring to Table 1 above, if the port form of the main station is a single port among the transmission devices and the port form of the partner station is multiport, the operation mode of the main station is slave and the operation mode of the partner station is master. It becomes. If the port form of the main station is a single port and the port form of the partner station is manual-master, the main station becomes a slave and the partner station becomes a master. That is, the manual-master refers to a state in which the transmission device is arbitrarily set to act as the master. Manual-slave refers to the state in which the transmission device is arbitrarily set to act as a slave. As shown in Table 1, when the port types of the partner station and the main station are different, the M / S is determined from UP1. The remaining other cases are shown in detail in Table 1 and specific explanations are omitted. However, if the port type of the partner station and the main station are the same, for example, if both are multi-ports or both are single ports, UP1 does not determine the M / S. Also, if the port form of the partner station and the main station are both set to manual-slave or manual-master, this is regarded as a configuration defect (FAULT) and AN is not performed.

That is, if the M / S is determined by UP1, the M / S determination unit 340 transmits the determination result to the TX state machine 360 and the RX state machine 370, and the next page to be transmitted is an NP that is not UP2. Inform that it is. Therefore, the TX state machine 360 transmits NP after transmitting UP1 without transmitting UP2 (stage 560, TX (5)). In the case of NP, NPB is set to 0 because no more NP is transmitted. Also, although the specific configuration of NP was not shown, MPB is set to 1 because NP is MP. The link is formed through this process, and AN ends (stage 570).

On the other hand, if the M / S is not determined from UP1 in the 540th stage, the TX state machine 360 transmits UP2 after UP1 (550th stage). At this time, the transmitted random seed value of UP2 is stored in the first M / S seed 320. In addition, the random seed value received by UP2 from the partner station is stored in the 2nd M / S seed 330. Therefore, the M / S judgment unit 340 compares the random seed value stored in the 1st M / S seed 320 with the random seed value stored in the 2nd M / S seed 330, and the device having a larger value is mastered. Decide to be. Therefore, a device with a small random seed value acts as a slave. In UP2, since there is an NP to be transmitted after that, the NPB is set to 1, and the page ability ABL is judged by the random seed value, so it is set to "RANDOM". Also, since UP2 is not MP, MPB is set to 0. The TX state machine 360 transmits NP after UP2 (stage 560), and if it receives NP from the partner station, it forms a link and ends AN (stage 570).

Further, if the MP indicating 16 is transmitted to the partner station in the 520th stage and then the MP indicating 8 is received from the partner station, the TX state machine 360 normally transmits UP1 and UP2 to perform AN. ..

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the reception process of the AN method for high-speed linking on Ethernet utilizing the 1000-based-T standard according to the present invention, and is a flowchart of the RX state machine 370 of FIG. It is done in. Initially, the RX state machine 370 is idle (stage 700). Since the reception process shown in FIG. 7 is linked to the transmission process, it is mostly performed in a similar process. That is, the RX state machine 370 receives BP from the partner station (710th stage, RX (1)), and then receives MP indicating 16 states (720th stage, RX (2)). If the MP with 16 messages is received in the 720th stage, the RX state machine 370 recognizes that UP2 is not received. After stage 720, the RX state machine 370 receives UP1 (stage 730, RX (3)). In addition, it is judged whether M / S is determined from UP1 after the 730th stage (the 740th stage). If the M / S can be determined in stage 740, the RX state machine 370 determines that the next page to be received is NP (stage 760, RX (5)) and forms a link (stage 770). stage). If the M / S is not determined from UP1 in the 740th stage, UP2 is normally received (750th stage, RX (4)), and then NP is received (760th stage). After that, a link is formed and AN ends (stage 770).

As described in FIGS. 5 and 7, in the present invention, by using the MP in a specific state, the time required to transmit UP2 at the time of AN is shortened by TX (4) and RX (4). be able to.

[0033] As described above, the optimum embodiment has been disclosed. Although specific terms have been used here, they are used solely for the purpose of explaining the invention and to limit the scope of the invention described in the scope of meaning and claims. It was not used for. Therefore, a person with ordinary knowledge in the art can understand that more diverse modifications and equal other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention must be determined by the technical idea of the claims.

[Effect of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when performing the AN function with Gigabit Ethernet, by transmitting and receiving a specific state not used in the IEEE802.3ab standard, that is, an MP having 16 messages. The time required to transmit UP2 can be shortened by TX (4) and RX (4). Therefore, when performing AN, 1/5 of the total time required for each page transmission can be shortened, which has the effect of increasing the link formation speed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [FIG. 1] FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining a transmission process among AN methods in high-speed Ethernet using a conventional 1000-base-T standard.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a reception process among the AN methods in high-speed Ethernet using the conventional 1000-base-T standard.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an apparatus for performing an AN method with high-speed Ethernet using the 1000-base-T standard according to the present invention.

4 (a) to 4 (c) are diagrams for explaining page information transmitted and received for the AN function in the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a transmission process among the AN methods in high-speed Ethernet using the 1000-base-T standard according to the embodiment of the present invention.

6 (a) and 6 (b) are diagrams for explaining MP transmitted when AN is performed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a reception process among the AN methods in high-speed Ethernet using the 1000-base-T standard according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of code] 300 Arbiter section 310 M / S determination section 350 State control section 390 Register section