Implementing UNH-IOL test suite compliance in Arria GX and Stratix II GX Gigabit Ethernet designs

Gigabit Ethernet (GIGE) is the most widely implemented physical and link layer protocol today. In addition to network backbones and data centers, 1000Mbps connectivity is deployed widely, including switch stacks, servers, and desktops.

Altera's Stratix II GX and Arria GX FPGAs provide a GIGE solution that is compliant with the IEEE 802.3 1000 BASE-X specification.

GIGE applications include line cards, NIC cards, and switches. Implementing The University of New Hampshire-InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) test suite compliance in GIGE designs using Altera's Stratix II GX or Arria GX devices help interoperability with other devices for applications requiring link auto-negotiation.

This application note describes implementation details required for GIGE designs that do not use Altera's TSE MegaCore and require UNH-IOL compliance. It also describes how to target Stratix II GX and Arria GX GIGE designs for UNH-IOL compliance using the Quartus II MegaWizard Plug-In Manager and additional logic where applicable.

View the PDF document for more information.