Via Technologies, Inc.

Yi-Hua Lai

Tien-Hui Chen

Chih-Chi Wang

The invention provides an Ethernet physical layer (PHY) receiver. Ethernet PHY signals are simultaneously transmitted through first, second, third, and fourth duplex channels. The Ethernet physical layer receiver comprises a deskew first-in first-out (FIFO) module and a deskew control module. The deskew FIFO module includes four deskew FIFO buffers for respectively holding the Ethernet PHY signals of the duplex channels, wherein the Ethernet PHY signals of the duplex channels are respectively retrieved from the deskew FIFO buffers for further processing through read points of the deskew FIFO buffers. The deskew control module derives a scrambler seed signal from an idle period data of the Ethernet PHY signals transmitted through a first one of the duplex channels, determines expected values of the idle period data of the Ethernet PHY signals of the second one and the third one according to the scrambler seed signal of the first one, and compares the expected values with the true idle period data of the second one and the third one to determine location adjustments of the read points of the FIFO buffers of the second one and the third one. The read points of the deskew FIFO buffers of the second one and the third one in the deskew FIFO module are then changed according to the location adjustments until the Ethernet PHY signals of the duplex channels read from the deskew FIFO buffers through the read points are successfully deskewed.

Apparatus and method for deskewing 1000 BASE-T Ethernet physical layer signals

A method for network diagnosis between a source end and a destination end coupled by a transmission line is provided. The method includes the following steps. First, a first test signal is transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver when the hybrid is set to a first mode. Next, a plurality of first coefficients are extracted from the first test signal received by the canceller during a first period, wherein each one of the first coefficients has an index corresponding to a received order. And then, the hybrid is switched to a second mode to generate a second test signal by sending an original signal to the receiver and the destination. Sequentially, a plurality of second coefficients are extracted from the second test signal received by the canceller during a second period, wherein each one of the second coefficients has an index corresponding to a received order. Therefore, a first index is determined when an absolute value of one of the first coefficients substantially exceeds a first threshold value. A second index and a polarity of a peak are determined according to a referenced signal that is obtained by subtracting the first coefficients from the second coefficients. At last, a location with a cabling issue is determined according to the first index and the second index.

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Yi-Hua Lai