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Pioneering the Ubiquitous Home Network: New AMD Silicon Solutions for Phone Line Networking
and another supporting the HomePNA 1 Mbps specifi-
cation. This dual functionality allows a single controller
to support both standard Ethernet networking as well
as the HomePNA network standard, creating a NIC
that is a complete Ethernet or home network node inte-
grated into a single device. A NIC based on this single-
chip controller approach uses the Windows 95/98 or
NT Network Driver Interface Specifications (NDIS)
stacks, and does not require any additional software
drivers to enable a home network. This significantly de-
creases time to market issues and also ensures home
networking support is native to the operating system.
Additional silicon functionality is enabled through the
integration of a PCI bus interface unit, a Direct Memory
Access (DMA) Buffer Management Unit, an ISO/IEC
88023 (IEEE 802.3) compliant MAC, and a Transmit
FIFO and a large Receive FIFO. This additional on-chip
functionality serves as the foundation for creating a
compelling, easy-to-use home networking solution.
The Media Independent Interface (MII) allows for direct
connection to an additional external PHY, such as a
100 Mbps PHY to enable Fast Ethernet support. This
high level of integration at the silicon level enables a
compelling and inexpensive HomePNA NIC to be built
that meets the consumer price/performance require-
ments for a successful home networking solution.
AMD enables additional ease-of-use features at the sil-
icon level as well. For instance, AMD's innovative
any1Home technology simplifies network manage-
ment by indicating when a valid node has been de-
tected. The any1Home packet uses minimal network
resources to detect a network failure, allowing upper
layer protocols to take action and correct potential con-
flicts that may compromise network performance. This
feature is key if one PC is acting as a file or print server,
requiring the node to maintain a constant network link.
AMD HOME NETWORKING SOLUTIONS
Home networking devices built around the AMD home
networking controller provide a low-cost consumer net-
working solution (see Figure 4). NICs using the AMD
home networking controller can be manufactured to
sell below $50, or simply be integrated onto a PC or
printer motherboard. An integrated, PCI-based Home-
PNA and Ethernet controller is a flexible bus-mastering
device that can be used in a variety of applications, in-
cluding network ready PCs, home bridges, and routers.
Direct interface to the PCI local bus simplifies overall
node design complexity, providing a direct link between
the network and a local bus. Expanded PCI bus sup-
port also allows for increased levels of connectivity, in-
cluding support for a V.90 modem. Combining home
networking capabilities and V.90 support onto a single
NIC reduces costs, provides a multi-use card simplify-
ing system integration, and allows a consumer to use a
single RJ-11 jack to access multiple LAN and WAN net-
working capabilities.
Silicon support integrated into the controller enables
the NIC to comply fully with the Network Device Class
Power Management requirements under the OnNow
Architecture for the PC98 and PC99 specifications.
Support for the D0 through D3 state operation defined
in the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface
(ACPI) specification and compliance with the Power
Management Interface Specification Revision 1.0 are
also supported at the silicon level. All of these features
enable greater management functionality to be inte-
grated into the home network, providing end-users with
an easily configured and managed network.
THE FUTURE
The achievable throughput capacity capable in most
existing in-home phone wiring can extend far beyond
1 Mbps. AMD's PCnet-Home controller is designed to
allow for the development of higher-speed generations
of the technology to be implemented that are both
backwards compatible and fully interoperable with the
first version of the technology. Next-generation devices
will offer similar functionality to the current AMD home
networking controllers, only they will provide for a home
network running at speeds of 10 Mbps and beyond.
Similar to how Fast Ethernet and Ethernet devices
work together in today's corporate environment, multi-
ple generations of networking devices will also be used
within the home network without conflict or interopera-
bility issues. The applications and protocol stacks
present in the PCnet-Home NIC will remain un-
changed, and all that is needed would be the addition
of the next-generation PHY block. This provides a very
clean and simple migration path to 10 Mbps and higher
home networking solutions.