Energy detect with auto pair select

• US 7,509,510 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2006
• Issued: 03/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Thousand, Richard Glen, Berman, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): ELAMIN, ABDELMONIEM I
• Application Number:
  US11/536,509
• Publication Number:
  US 20070022310A1
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: 713320-324, 370/241, 370/245, 370/252
• US Class Current: 713/320
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3209 Monitoring remote activity, e.g. over telephone lines or network connections

Abstract

Energy detect with auto pair select for energy management without ‘a priori’ knowledge of the wire pairs connectivity. The energy detect with auto pair select is operable within systems performing automatic detection of connectivity in systems that employ the Ethernet based media dependent interface crossover (MDIX). Where there has been some cross-over of pairs within the system, a situation not uncommon in many networks, the energy detect with auto pair select is operable to perform energy management without knowledge of the pair connectivity. Selection or detection of coupled wire pairs is acquired by energy detection of coupled wire pairs via a state machine that analyzes a qualified energy level.

Claims

1. An energy detect with auto pair select system for device energy management comprises:

a device operable to perform energy detection with auto pair selection;

a plurality of wire pairs coupled to the device; and

wherein the device generates a qualified energy by considering an energy associated with at least two wire pairs within the plurality of wire pairs;

wherein the device determines, with the qualified energy, whether at least one additional device is coupled to the device via at least one wire pair within the plurality of wire pairs; and

when no at least one additional device is coupled to the device via the at least one wire pair within the plurality of wire pairs, the device performs auto power down.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the auto power down includes a partial auto power down.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the device performs auto media dependent interface crossover (auto-MDIX) functionality when the at least one wire pair is transposed with at least one additional wire pair.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the qualified energy is the energy of the at least one wire pair within the plurality of wire pairs when the device does not transmit a link pulse.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of wire pairs includes at least one of a receive wire pair and a transmit wire pair.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprises:

a state machine operable to

determine connectivity of the device with the plurality of wire pairs.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the state machine is operable to change an operational state of the device based on whether at least one additional device coupled to the device via at least one wire pair within the plurality of wire pairs.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the state machine prompts the device to perform wake up from a standby state when the device determines that the at least one additional device is coupled to the device via the wire pair.

9. An energy detect with auto pair select system for device energy management via a plurality of wire pairs comprises:

a device coupled to the plurality of wire pairs to perform energy detection with auto pair selection, the device operable to perform auto media dependent crossover (auto-MDIX) functionality when at least two wire pairs of the plurality of wire pairs are transposed, wherein the device determines whether at least one wire pair within the wire pair includes an energy and device functions to;

when transmitting a link pulse, generate a qualified energy by subtracting a link pulse energy associated with the link pulse from the energy; and

when a link pulse is not transmitted, generate the qualified energy as the energy; and

a state machine operable to determine connectivity of the device with the plurality of wire pairs, wherein the state machine determines whether at least one additional device is connectively coupled to the device via the at least one wire pair based upon the qualified energy, wherein the device performs energy savings management based upon the connectivity of the device with the plurality of wire pairs.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the device is operable within at least one of a standby state and an awake state as determined by the state machine.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the device performs auto power down when the device determines that no device coupled to the device via the wire pair of the plurality of wire pairs.

12. The system of claim 9, further comprising a summing circuit to sum energies on each of the plurality of wire pairs;

and

suppression circuitry that suppresses the link pulse energy from the summed energies on each of the plurality of wire pairs.

13. A method for energy detect with auto pair selection comprises:

performing energy detection of a plurality of wire pairs, at least one wire pair within the plurality of wire pairs coupled to a device;

generating a qualified energy by considering an energy associated with at least two wire pairs within the plurality of wire pairs;

determining whether at least one additional device coupled to the device via at least one wire pair within the plurality of wire pairs; and

performing auto power down when no at least one additional device is coupled to the device via the wire pair.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising performing auto negotiation between the device and at least one additional device.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising waking up the device from a standby state.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the auto power down comprises a partial auto power down.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising summing energies on each of the plurality of wire pairs;

and

suppressing energy associated with a transmitted link pulse from the sum of the energies of each of the plurality of wire pairs, the transmitted link pulse being transmitted from a device.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising using the energy of at least one wire pair within the plurality of wire pairs as the qualified energy when the device does not transmit a link pulse.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of wire pairs comprises at least one of a receive wire pair and a transmit wire pair.

20. The method of claim 13, further comprising employing a state machine to determine connectivity of the device with the plurality of wire pairs.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the state machine is operable to change an operational state of the device based on whether at least one additional device coupled to the device via at least one wire pair within the plurality of wire pairs.

22. The method of claim 13, wherein the device performs wake up from a standby state when the device determines that the at least one additional device coupled to the device via the wire pair.