FORM FACTOR ADAPTER MODULE

• US 20090257754A1
• Filed: 04/14/2008
• Published: 10/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Theodoras, James Thomas II, Legg, Travis, Metivier, Christophe
• Granted Patent: US 8,165,471 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 398/135
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/30 Peripheral units, e.g. input or output ports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/351 for local area network [LAN], e.g. Ethernet switches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/40 Constructional details, e.g. power supply, mechanical construction or backplane

Abstract

Various example embodiments are disclosed. According to one example embodiment, a form factor adapter module may include a small form factor (SFF) host connector, an X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector, and a serial to XAUI transceiver. The SFF host connector may be configured receive a small form factor pluggable (SFP or SFP+) module and to transmit and receive data according to a Serial Gigabit Media Independent Interface (SGMII) or Serializer-deserializer Framer Interface (SFI) protocol. The X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector may be configured to mate with an X2 or XENPAK edge finger socket and to transmit and receive data according to a Ten Gigabit Ethernet Attachment Unit Interface (XAUI) protocol. The serial to XAUI transceiver may be coupled to both the SFF host connector and the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector. The serial to XAUI transceiver may be configured to convert data between the SGMII or SFI protocol and the XAUI protocol.

Claims

1. A form factor adapter module comprising:

a small form factor (SFF) host connector configured to receive a small form factor pluggable (SFP or SFP+ ) module and to transmit and receive data according to a Serial Gigabit Media Independent Interface (SGMII) or Serializer-deserializer Framer Interface (SFI) protocol;

an X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector configured to mate with an X2 or XENPAK edge finger socket and to transmit and receive data according to a Ten Gigabit Ethernet Attachment Unit Interface (XAUI) protocol; and

a serial to XAUI transceiver coupled to both the SFF host connector and the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector, the serial to XAUI transceiver being configured to convert data between the SGMII or SFI protocol and the XAUI protocol.

2. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, wherein the SFF host connector includes a twenty-pin small form factor pluggable host connector configured to receive the SFP or SFP+ module and to transmit and receive data according to the SGMII or SFI protocol.

3. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, wherein the SFF host connector includes a port configured to receive the SFP or SFP+ module, the port including an aperture configured to receive a pin which is included in the SFP or SFP+ module.

4. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, wherein the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector includes a seventy-pin X2 edge finger connector.

5. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, wherein the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector includes a seventy-pin XENPAK edge finger connector.

6. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, wherein the serial to XAUI transceiver is configured to:

receive SGMII or SFI data from the SFF host connector according to the SGMII or SFI protocol, convert the SGMII or SFI data to the XAUI protocol, and send the converted SGMII or SFI data to the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector; and

receive XAUI data from the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector according to the XAUI protocol, convert the XAUI data to the SGMII or SFI data protocol, and send the converted XAUI data to the SFF host connector.

7. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, wherein the serial to XAUI transceiver is coupled to the SFF host connector via an inter-integrated circuit control path and an SFI data path.

8. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, wherein the serial to XAUI transceiver is coupled to the SFF host connector via an inter-integrated circuit control path and an SGMII data path.

9. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, wherein the serial to XAUI transceiver is coupled to the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector via a management data input/output control path and a XAUI data path.

10. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, wherein the serial to XAUI transceiver includes an SFI-to-XAUI serializer-deserializer.

11. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, further comprising a memory coupled to the serial to XAUI transceiver, the memory being configured to provide instructions to the serial to XAUI transceiver.

12. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, further comprising a clock coupled to the serial to XAUI transceiver, the clock being configured to provide clock impulses to the serial to XAUI transceiver.

13. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, further comprising a logic controller coupled to the SFF host connector, to the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector, and to the serial to XAUI transceiver.

14. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, further comprising a power distributor coupled to the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector and the serial to XAUI transceiver, the power distributor being configured to receive power from the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector and provide power to the serial to XAUI transceiver.

15. The form factor adapter module of claim 14, further comprising a hot swappable current controller coupled to the power distributor and the SFF host connector, the hot swappable current controller being configured to receive power from the power distributor and control current levels flowing from the SFF host connector.

16. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, further comprising a latch mechanism configured to secure the form factor adapter module within an X2 or XENPAK bay with the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector mated with the X2 or XENPAK edge finger socket, the X2 or XENPAK edge finger socket being included in the X2 or XENPAK bay.

17. The form factor adapter module of claim 1, wherein:

the form factor adapter module further comprises a housing enclosing the serial to XAUI transceiver, at least a portion of the SFF host connector, and at least a portion of the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector;

the SFF host connector and the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector are located on opposite ends of the form factor adapter module; and

the housing includes a plurality of apertures on at least one side of the housing, the at least one side being adjacent to the opposite ends on which the SFF host connector and the X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector are located.

18. A method comprising:

mating a first end of an adapter module with an X2 or XENPAK edge finger socket;

receiving, at a second end of the adapter module, a small form factor pluggable (SFP or SFP+) module;

receiving, from the SFP or SFP+ module, Serial Gigabit Media Independent Interface (SGMII) or Serializer-deserializer Framer Interface (SFI) data according to an SGMII or SFI protocol, converting the SGMII or SFI data to a Ten Gigabit Ethernet Attachment Unit Interface (XAUI) protocol, and sending the converted SGMII or SFI data to the X2 or XENPAK edge finger socket; and

receiving, from the X2 or XENPAK edge finger socket, XAUI data according to the XAUI protocol, converting the XAUI data to the SGMII or SFI protocol, and sending the converted XAUI data to the SFP or SFP+ module.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the mating a first end of an adapter module with the X2 or XENPAK edge finger socket includes:

inserting a seventy-pin X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector into the X2 or XENPAK edge finger socket; and

securing the seventy-pin X2 or XENPAK edge finger connector into an X2 or XENPAK bay, the X2 or XENPAK bay including the X2 or XENPAK edge finger socket, with a latch, the X2 or XENPAK edge finger socket including seventy pins.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein receiving at a second end of the adapter module the SFP or SFP+ module includes receiving the SFP or SFP+ module into a twenty-pin SFF host connector provided at a second end of the adapter module, the SFP or SFP+ module including twenty pins.