Intel Atom EHL Ethernet

[rdos]

I think all Intel Ethernet controllers today are i2xx compatible. In my documentation of EHL v2 the Ethernet controller is called "TSN".

Another way to figure it out is to get the PCIe device identifiers, which in my PC are 8086 (Intel vendor) and 157B. This combination is described as i210 Gigabit network connection here: https://devicehunt.com/view/type/pci/ve ... evice/157B

[Octocontrabass]

I think all Intel Ethernet controllers today are i2xx compatible.

Intel didn't make this Ethernet controller, they licensed it from Synopsys.

In my documentation of EHL v2 the Ethernet controller is called "TSN".

That's short for Time-Sensitive Networking. It's not the name of the Ethernet controller.

Another way to figure it out is to get the PCIe device identifiers,

The PCH Ethernet controller is vendor 8086 device 4B32.

[rdos]

There is no online information about that device, so I cannot say. Still, I have two Intel EHL based computers, and both have i210 compatible Ethernet integrated into the chipset.

[Octocontrabass]

I have two Intel EHL based computers, and both have i210 compatible Ethernet integrated into the chipset.

If you open one of them up and look, you should see a separate i210 chip that isn't part of the main SoC.

[rdos]

I have two Intel EHL based computers, and both have i210 compatible Ethernet integrated into the chipset.

If you open one of them up and look, you should see a separate i210 chip that isn't part of the main SoC.

Not so. They are described in the chipset manual from Intel, along with a dual CAN controller and some other peripherials. This was typically the case for RTL Ethernet controllers, but the i210 is an Intel design.

[Octocontrabass]

They are described in the chipset manual from Intel,

Which chipset manual? The only Elkhart Lake manuals I've seen describe the Synopsys Ethernet controller.

[ravi]

Hello Octocontrabass

i was able to to make my ethernet drivers to work,, it took me few sleepless nights to get there , but finally i was able to transmit ethernet frames

[rdos]

They are described in the chipset manual from Intel,

Which chipset manual? The only Elkhart Lake manuals I've seen describe the Synopsys Ethernet controller.

It's called the "Intel Atom® x6000E Series, and Intel® Pentium® and Celeron® N and J Series Processors for IoT Applications."

[Octocontrabass]

It's called the "Intel Atom® x6000E Series, and Intel® Pentium® and Celeron® N and J Series Processors for IoT Applications."

That sounds like the same manual I'm looking at. Where in that manual are you seeing an Intel i2xx Ethernet controller instead of a Synopsys DWMAC4 Ethernet controller?

[rdos]

It's called the "Intel Atom® x6000E Series, and Intel® Pentium® and Celeron® N and J Series Processors for IoT Applications."

That sounds like the same manual I'm looking at. Where in that manual are you seeing an Intel i2xx Ethernet controller instead of a Synopsys DWMAC4 Ethernet controller?

I just checked my computer, and there are no other PCIe ethernet devices than the two i2xx compatible controllers. OTOH, the two controllers appear to be on their own PCIe bus, and there are two chips on the board that might be Ethernet controllers. I didn't use the documentation in the manual, rather the manufacturer claimed the board had two i2xx compatible controllers, so you might be right about the function described in the manual. Maybe they can simply disable it?

[Octocontrabass]

Maybe they can simply disable it?

The datasheet says they can do that.

I'm not sure why anyone would want to disable the three built-in Ethernet controllers just to add a couple of external Ethernet controllers, but I guess they had some reason.

[rdos]

Maybe they can simply disable it?

The datasheet says they can do that.

I'm not sure why anyone would want to disable the three built-in Ethernet controllers just to add a couple of external Ethernet controllers, but I guess they had some reason.

I find it fascinating that Intel has integrated Synopsys Ethernet into their chipsets when their own i2xx is so much better & properly documented. Doing some Googling on Synopsis, I think the answer is that they provide an Ethernet IP module for hardware designers that can just be plugged into their design, while the i2xx might be harder to integrate.

[ravi]

Hello Octocontrabass,

Want to evaluate the performance of i225 PCIE Nic, i got one from amazon and connected to the CRB it gets detected,

any suggestions about staring point, how to configure it and send messages ,, is there data sheet that you know ,, that can help me configure the NIC and test it

Thanks
Ravi

[Octocontrabass]

Section 4 of the i225 datasheet should cover everything.

If you don't have the i225 datasheet, I think section 4 of the i210 datasheet will be close enough.