Network interface card using physical layer microcontroller and method of operation

• US 7,194,502 B1
• Filed: 11/15/2000
• Issued: 03/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Semiconductor Corporation (Texas Instruments, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: National Semiconductor Corporation (Texas Instruments, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gavlik, John E., Chang, Ted, Webb, Matthew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne; Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): EL CHANTI, HUSSEIN A
• Application Number:
  US09/713,389
• Time in Patent Office: 2,316 Days
• Field of Search: 709/220, 709222-224, 709/231, 709/250
• US Class Current: 709/200
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

There is disclosed an apparatus for controlling a physical layer interface of a network interface card. The apparatus comprises: 1) a read only memory (ROM) for storing an embedded control program; 2) a random access memory for storing a downloadable software control program; and 3) a microcontroller for controlling the physical layer interface, wherein the microcontroller in a first operating mode executes the embedded control program to thereby control the physical layer interface, and wherein the microcontroller in a second operating mode downloads the downloadable software control program from an external processing system and executes the software control program in place of the embedded control program to thereby control the physical layer interface.

Claims

1. An apparatus for controlling a physical layer interface of a network interface card, said apparatus comprising:

a read only memory (ROM) capable of storing an embedded control program;

a random access memory capable of storing a downloadable software control program downloaded from an external processing system; and

a microcontroller capable of controlling said physical layer interface, wherein said microcontroller in a first operating mode is capable of executing said embedded control program to thereby control said physical layer interface, and wherein said microcontroller in a second operating mode is capable of executing said downloadable software control program in place of said embedded control program to thereby control said physical layer interface;

wherein said microcontroller comprises a plurality of control registers capable of controlling said first and second operating modes, wherein said microcontroller switches from said first operating mode to said second operating mode when said external processing system stores a jump address to said RAM in a first one of said plurality of control registers.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said ROM is an internal ROM in said microcontroller.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said RAM is an internal RAM in said microcontroller.

4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said ROM is an external ROM coupled to said microcontroller.

5. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said RAM is an external RAM coupled to said microcontroller.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said microcontroller downloads said downloadable software control program from said external processing system via a media independent clock (MDC) signal line and a media independent input/output (MDIO) signal line.

7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein said microcontroller downloads said downloadable software control program via a medium access control (MAC) layer interface coupling said external processing system and said physical layer interface.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first control register comprises a last register in a first register file in the microcontroller.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the microcontroller includes 256 register files, each register file containing 32 16-bit registers.

10. A processing system comprising:

a data processor;

a hard disk drive capable of storing a network interface card (NIC) configuration file containing a downloadable software control program; and

a network interface card for coupling said processing system to a data network, said network interface card comprising an apparatus for controlling a physical layer interface of said network interface card, said apparatus comprising;

a read only memory (ROM) capable of storing an embedded control program;

a random access memory capable of storing a downloadable software control program downloaded from an external processing system; and

a microcontroller capable of controlling said physical layer interface, wherein said microcontroller in a first operating mode is capable of executing said embedded control program to thereby control said physical layer interface, and wherein said microcontroller in a second operating mode is capable of executing said downloadable software control program in place of said embedded control program to thereby control said physical layer interface;

wherein said microcontroller comprises a plurality of control registers capable of controlling said first and second operating modes, wherein said microcontroller switches from said first operating mode to said second operating mode when said external processing system stores a jump address to said RAM in a first one of said plurality of control registers.

11. The processing system as set forth in claim 10 wherein said ROM is an internal ROM in said microcontroller.

12. The processing system as set forth in claim 10 wherein said RAM is an internal RAM in said microcontroller.

13. The processing system as set forth in claim 10 wherein said ROM is an external ROM coupled to said microcontroller.

14. The processing system as set forth in claim 10 wherein said RAM is an external RAM coupled to said microcontroller.

15. The processing system as set forth in claim 10 wherein said microcontroller downloads said downloadable software control program from said external processing system via a media independent clock (MDC) signal line and a media independent input/output (MDIO) signal line.

16. The processing system as set forth in claim 15 wherein said microcontroller downloads said downloadable software control program via a medium access control (MAC) layer interface coupling said external processing system and said physical layer interface.

17. For use in a network interface card having a physical layer interface controllable by a microcontroller embedded therein, a method of operating the microcontroller comprising the steps of:

in a first operating mode, executing an embedded control program stored in a read only memory (ROM) coupled to the microcontroller to thereby control the physical layer interface;

in a second operating mode, executing a software control program downloaded from an external processing system and stored in a random access memory (RAM) coupled to the microcontroller in place of the embedded control program to thereby control the physical layer interface; and

switching from the first operating mode to the second operating mode when the external processing system stores a jump address to the RAM in a first one of a plurality of control registers in the microcontroller wherein the control registers are capable of controlling said first and second operating modes.

18. The method as set forth in claim 17 wherein the ROM is an internal ROM in the microcontroller.

19. The method as set forth in claim 17 wherein the RAM is an internal RAM in the microcontroller.

20. The method as set forth in claim 17 wherein the ROM is an external ROM coupled to the microcontroller.

21. The method as set forth in claim 17 wherein the RAM is an external RAM coupled to the microcontroller.

22. The method as set forth in claim 17 wherein the step of downloading comprises the step of downloading the software control program from the external processing system via a media independent clock (MDC) signal line and a media independent input/output (MDIO) signal line.

23. The method as set forth in claim 22 wherein the step of downloading comprises the step of downloading the software control program via a medium access control (MAC) layer interface coupling the external processing system and the physical layer interface.