Crystal CS8900

CRYSTAL CS8900 LAN CONTROLLER

The CS8900 is a highly-integrated Ethernet LAN Controller. The CS8900 includes on-chip RAM, 10BASE-T transmit and receive filters, and a direct ISA Bus interface with 24 mA drivers. In addition to the high integration, the CS8900 offers a broad range of performance features and configuration options. Its unique PacketPage architecture automatically adapts to changing network traffic patterns and available system resources. The result is increased system efficiency and minimized CPU overhead.

The CS8900 is a full 16-bit Ethernet controller designed to provide optimal system performance by minimizing time on the ISA bus and CPU overhead per frame. The CS8900 is a true single- chip, full- duplex, Ethernet solution, incorporating all of the analog and digital circuitry needed for a complete Ethernet circuit. Major functional blocks include: a direct ISA bus interface, an 802.3 MAC engine, integrated buffer memory (RAM); a serial EEPROM interface, and a complete analog front end with both 10BASE-T and AUI interface. The CP/386LN uses only the CS8900 10BASE-T interface.

Direct ISA bus interface: Included in the CS8900 is a direct ISA bus interface with full 24 mA drive capability. Its configuration options include a choise of four interrupts and three DMA channels (one of each selected during initialization). Please Note: The CP/386LN do not use the CS8900 DMA channels. In Memory Mode, its supports Standard and Ready Bus cycles without introducing additional wait states.

Integrated Memory: The CS8900 incorporates a 4-Kbyte page of on-chip memory, eliminating the cost and board area associated with external memory chips. Unlike most others Ethernet controllers, the CS8900 buffers entire transmit and receive frames on chip, eliminating the need for complex, inefficient memory management schemes. In addition, the CS8900 operates in either Memory space, I/O space, or with external DMA controllers, providing maximum design flexibility.

802.3 Ethernet MAC Engine: The CS8900愀 Ethernet Media Access Control (MAC) engine is fully compliant with the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard (ISO/IEC 8802-3, 1993), and supports full- duplex operation. It handles all aspects of Ethernet frame transmission and reception, including: collision detection, preamble generation and detection, and CRC generation and test. Programmable MAC features include automatic re-transmission on collision, and automatic padding of transmitted frames.

EEPROM Interface: The CS8900 provides a simple and efficient serial EEPROM interface that allows configuration information to be stored in an optional EEPROM, and then loaded automatically at power-up. This eliminates the need for costly and cumbersome switches and jumpers.

Complete Analog Front End: The CS8900 analog front end incorporates a Manchester encoder and decoder, clock recovery circuit, 10BASE-T transceiver, and complete Attachment Unit Interface (AUI). It provides manual and automatic selection of either 10BASE-T or AUI, and offers three on-chip LED drivers for link status, bus status, and Ethernet line activity. Please Note: The CP/386LN uses only the CS8900 10BASE-T interface.

The 10BASE-T transceiver includes drivers, receivers, and analog filters, allowing direct connection to low-cost isolation transformers. It supports 100, 120, and 150 Ohm shielded and unshielded cables, extended cable lengths, and automatic receive polarity reversal detection and correction.