P R E L I M I N A R Y
I N F O R M A T I O N
Distinctive Characteristics
8 10Mbps Ethernet Access Ports
Direct interface with 10BaseT
transceiver
0.5 micron 3.3 Volt CMOS process
352-BGA package
Operating frequency
-33
-40
-50
-66
mum
33 MHz maximum
40 MHz maximum
50 MHz maximum
66.66 MHz maxi-
EA218E – 8-Port Ethernet Access Controller
XpressFlow 2020 Ethernet Routing Switch Chipset
XPRESSFLOW BUS
MANAGEMENT BUS
16
32
32
LOCAL
BUFFER
MEMORY
EA-218E
8-Port Ethernet
Access Controller
Port Port Port Port Port Port Port Port
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
32-bit Local Buffer Memory Interface
Supports 128k to 1M bytes
Utilize high performance 32-bit
Synchronous Burst SRAM
Hardware assisted Buffer and Queue
Management
16-bit Management Bus I/O Interface
Allows host to access Control
Registers & Local Buffer Memory
Big and Little Endian CPUs
Direct interface to standard micro-
processors, including 386, 486
families and Motorola MPC series
embedded processors
32-bit
XpressFlow
Bus Interface
Uses Granule for frame transfer-
ring between Access Controllers
Unicast, multicast, and broadcast
frames
Also detects IEEE 802.3X MAC
Control frames
Works together with SC-220 Xpress-
Flow Engine
Forwards frames at full line-rate
Distributed Flow Caching™ to re-
duce frame forwarding latency
Half and Full Duplex operation
Programmable Flow Control
Jam Collision for Half Duplex
Mode
Transmit Flow Control Frame for
IEEE 802.3x Full Duplex Mode
Supports Store-&-Forward frame forward-
© 1998
Zarlink Semiconductor, Inc.
1
Rev.2.1 – February, 1999
8 10BaseT Ports
10BaseT
Phyiscal Layer
Transceiver
Block Diagram-
EA218E 8-Port Ethernet Access Controller
General Description
The EA-218E provides eight 10Mbps Ethernet network access interface ports.
The EA-218E provides the Ethernet MAC protocols, handles the local buffer memory
interface and management, arbitrates among multiple priority queues, and interfaces
with the
XpressFlow
Engine and other Access Controllers through the
XpressFlow
message passing protocol.
Related Components:
SC220
– XpressFlow Engine
EA218
– 6-port 10 + 2-port 10/100 Ethernet Access Controller
EA234
– 4-port 10/100Mbps Ethernet Access Controller