System and method for energy savings on a PHY/MAC interface for energy efficient Ethernet
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for communication, the system comprising:
- one or more circuits for use in a communication device, said one or more circuits comprising a physical layer device that is coupled to a media access control device, and said one or more circuits being operable to;
transition said physical layer device from an active power mode to a low power mode; and
subrate an interface between said physical layer device and said media access control device, said subrated interface having one or more channels in said interface turned off to reduce power consumed by said interface.
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Abstract
A system and method for energy savings on a PHY/MAC interface for energy efficient Ethernet. Power savings for a PHY due to low-link utilization can also be realized in the higher layer elements that interface with the PHY. In one embodiment, subrating is implemented on a MAC/PHY interface to match a subrating of the PHY with a remote link partner. This subrating is less than the full capacity rate and can be zero.
27 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A system for communication, the system comprising:
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one or more circuits for use in a communication device, said one or more circuits comprising a physical layer device that is coupled to a media access control device, and said one or more circuits being operable to; transition said physical layer device from an active power mode to a low power mode; and subrate an interface between said physical layer device and said media access control device, said subrated interface having one or more channels in said interface turned off to reduce power consumed by said interface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A physical layer device, comprising:
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an interface for communication with a media access control device; and a control module that controls transitions of said physical layer device from an active power mode to a low power mode, said control module being configured to transmit a control signal to said media access control device to facilitate subrating of said interface, said subrated interface having one or more channels in said interface turned off to reduce power consumed by said interface when said physical layer device has transitioned to said low power mode. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An energy efficiency method in a physical layer device, comprising:
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detecting a need for transitioning of said physical layer device between different power consumption modes; and in association with said transitioning of said physical layer device, subrating an interface between said physical layer device and said media access control device, said subrated interface having one or more channels in said interface turned off to reduce power consumed by said interface. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification