RTL8309SB
Datasheet
Single-chip 9-port 10/100Mbps Switch Controller
68
Track ID: JATR-1076-21 Rev. 1.4
8.1.9.
Auto Crossover Detection
During the link setup phase, the RTL8309SB checks whether it receives active signals on every port in order to determine if a
connection can be established. In cases where the receiver data pin pair is connected to the transmitter data pin pair of the peer
device and vice versa, the RTL8309SB will automatically change its configuration to swap receiver data pins with transmitter
data pins. In other words, the RTL8309SB adapts automatically to a peer device’s configuration. If a port is connected with a
crossover cable to a NIC with an MDI-X interface, the RTL8309SB will reconfigure the port to ensure proper connection. This
effectively replaces the DIP switch commonly used for reconfiguring a port on a hub or switch.
By pulling-up EN_AUTOXOVER, the RTL8309SB identifies the type of connected cable and sets the port to MDI or MDIX.
When switching to MDI mode, the RTL8309SB uses TXOP/N as transmit pairs; when switching to MDIX mode, the
RTL8309SB uses RXIP/N as transmit pairs. This function is port-based. Pulling-down EN_AUTOXOVER disables this
function and the RTL8309SB operates in MDI mode, in which TXOP/N represents transmit pairs and RXIP/N represents
receive pairs.
IEEE 802.3 compliant forced mode 100M ports with auto crossover have link issues with NWay (Auto-Negotiation) ports. It is
recommended to
not
use auto crossover for forced 100M.
8.2.
Switch Core Functional Overview
8.2.1.
Address Search, Learning, and Aging
When a packet is received, the RTL8309SB uses the least 10 bits of the destination MAC address to index the 1024-entry look-
up table, and at the same time compares the destination MAC address with the contents of the 16-entry CAM. If the indexed
entry is valid or the CAM comparison is matched, the received packet will be forwarded to the corresponding destination port.
Otherwise, the RTL8309SB will broadcast the packet. This is the ‘Address Search’.
The RTL8309SB then extracts the least 10 bits of the source MAC address to index the 1024-entry look-up table. If the entry is
not already in the table it will record the source MAC address and add switching information. If this is an occupied entry, it
will update the entry with new information. This is called ‘Learning’. If the indexed location has been occupied by a different
MAC address (hash collision), the new source MAC address will be recorded into the 16-entry CAM. The 16-entry CAM
reduces address hash collisions and improves switching performance.
Address aging is used to keep the contents of the address table correct in a dynamic network topology. The look-up engine will
update the time stamp information of an entry whenever the corresponding source MAC address appears. An entry will be
invalid (aged out) if it’s time stamp information is not refreshed by the address learning process during the aging time period.
The aging time of the RTL8309SB is around 300 seconds.