Microchip VSC8258

VSC8258 is a quad 1G/10G serial-to-serial Ethernet PHY featuring IEEE 1588v2 and 128/256-bit MACsec encryption. It also supports dual-sided 10GBASE-KR functionality including auto-negotiation and training in a small form factor, low-power FCBGA ideal for a wide array of board-level signal integrity designs and system-level IEEE standard compliant (intelligent) Ethernet connectivity.

Microchips patent-pending timing technology that delivers the industry’s most accurate IEEE 1588v2 timing implementation. It is the only IEEE 1588v2 solution to be validated by major OEMs in real-world tests and adopted as the preferred low-cost upgrade for meeting emerging requirements in 4G/LTE-Advanced (LTE-A).

Microchip's patent-pending flow-based extension of the IEEE 802.1AE-based, end-to-end MACsec solution for confidential communications over any MEF CE 2.0 Ethernet or MPLS service provider connections. It is the world’s first FIPS 197-certified CGM-AES 256-bit strong MACsec, with legacy support for today's CGM-AES 128-bit field deployments. The VSC8258 device supports full line rate encryption at both 1 GbE and 10 GbE speeds over multiple media types.

Target applications for the VSC8258 device include switching, IP edge router connectivity, rack mount server access through backplane, fiber and copper cable connectivity, and standalone server access (in LAN on motherboard designs or separate network adapters).

The VSC8258 device delivers excellent jitter attenuation with low power. It is well-suited for SFP+ and QSFP+ based optical modules and direct attach copper cabling as well as challenging backplane interface applications.

Features

• Standards supported include IEEE 1588v2/Y.1731 OAM (4 ns), IEEE 802.1AE (128/256-bit MACsec), IEEE 802.3ae, IEEE 802.3ap, SFF-8431, ITU-T G.8261, and ITU-T G.8262
• Support for 10G LAN, 10G WAN, and 1G modes
• Support for SFP+/QSFP+ line modules and 10GBASE-KR backplanes between 1.25 Gbps and 10.3125 Gbps (including auto-negotiation and training)

VSC8258 Evaluation Board

Supporting 1000BASE-X, 10GBASE-R, 10GBASE-W, and other protocols, the VSC8258 is a quad serial Ethernet PHY with IEEE 1588-2008 and media access control security (MACsec) support. The VSC8257 is a quad serial Ethernet PHY with IEEE 1588-2008 support. MACsec functions are permanently disabled in a VSC8257 product. There are four bidirectional ports (interchangeably called channel), each consisting of an Rx path (ingress) and a Tx path (egress). The Rx path receives serial data from the line side (RXIN), de-serializes it to 64-bit bus to the processing core, then serializes it back to the appropriate serial stream at the host side (RXOUT). The Tx path receives a serial stream from the host side (TXIN), de-serializes it to 64-bit bus to the processing core, then serializes it back at the line side (TXOUT).

A GUI is provided for the user to control the evaluation board from a PC using a USB cable. The GUI allows the user to configure devices, access registers, and run scripts. The GUI may be used without an evaluation board in a demonstration mode to provide an introduction to the device features.

The default configuration of the evaluation board allows the user to easily connect it to lab equipment such as a high-speed oscilloscope, bit error rate tester, or protocol analyzer (IXIA, Spirent, and so on) through SMA cables or fiber. An external 5 V power supply is required to power to the evaluation board.