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and the network partner to automatically configure both to take maximum advantage of their abilities.
The Auto-Negotiation function is controlled by ANEN (bit 12 of XR0).
During Auto-Negotiation information is exchanged with the network partner using Fast Link Pulses
(FLPs) - a burst of link pulses. There are 16 bits of signaling information contained in the link pulses
which advertise to the remote partner the capabilities which are represented by the contents of ANA
(register XR4). According to this information the partners find out their highest common capabilities by
following the priority sequence listed below:
1. 100BASE-TX full duplex
2. 100BASE-TX half duplex
3. 10BASE-T full duplex
4. 10BASE-T half duplex
During power-up or reset, if Auto-Negotiation is enabled, the FLPs will be transmitted and the Auto-Negotia-
tion function will proceed. Otherwise, Auto-Negotiation will not occur until ANEN (bit 12 of XR0) is set to 1.
When the Auto-Negotiation is disabled, then Network Speed and Duplex Mode are selected by programming
the XR0 register.
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Power Down Operation
The transceiver is designed with a power-down feature which can reduce power consumption
significantly. Since the power supply of the 100BASE-TX and 10BASE-T circuits are separate, the
transceiver can turn off the circuit of either the 100BASE-TX or 10BASE-T when the other is active.
6.5.3 Flow Control in Full Duplex Application
The PAUSE function is used to inhibit transmission of data frames for a specified period of time. The STE10/
100A supports the full duplex protocol of IEEE802.3x. To support the PAUSE function, the STE10/100A imple-
ments the MAC Control Sub-layer functions to decode the MAC Control frames received from MAC control cli-
ents and to execute the relative requests accordingly. When Full Duplex mode and the PAUSE function are
selected after Auto-Negotiation completes (refer to the configuration of XR8), the STE10/100A will enable the
PAUSE function for flow control in a full duplex application. In this section we will describe how the STE10/100A
implements the PAUSE function.
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MAC Control Frame and PAUSE Frame
Figure 14. MAC Control Frame Format
The MAC Control frame is distinguished from other MAC frames only by its Length/Type field identifier. The
MAC Control Opcode defined in MAC Control Frame format for the PAUSE function is 0001h, and the PAUSE
time is specified in the MAC Control Parameters field with 2 Octets, representing an unsigned integer, in units
of Slot-Times. The range of possible PAUSE times is 0 to 65535 Slot-Times.
A valid PAUSE frame issued by a MAC control client (e.g., a switch or a bridge) would contain:
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The destination address, set to the globally assigned 48 bit mulitcast address 01-80-C2-00-00-01,
6 Octets
Destination Address
6 Octets
Source Address
2 Octets
Length/Type = 88-08h
2 Octets
MAC Control Opcode
MAC Control Parameter
(minFrameSize - 160) / 8 Octets
Reserved(pads with zeroes)