IDT Link Operation
PES16T4AG2 User Manual
3 - 5
May 23, 2013
Notes
Note that in this case the Link Bandwidth Management Status (LBWSTS) bit in the PCIELSTS register
of the downstream port is not set, since the initial link speed upgrade was not caused by a software directed
link retrain or by link reliability issues. The same behavior applies after full link retrain (i.e., when the LTSSM
transitions through the ‘Detect’ state). The current link speed of each port is reported via the Current Link
Speed (CLS) field of the port’s Link Status Register (PCIELSTS).
When a link speed upgrade operation fails, the PHY LTSSM reverts back to the speed before the
upgrade (i.e., 2.5 Gbps) and does not autonomously initiate a subsequent link speed upgrade. The PHY
continues to respond to link partner requests for link speed upgrade or to link speed upgrades triggered by
the software setting the Link Retrain (LRET) bit in the PCIELCTL register.
The PES16T4AG2 ports do not autonomously change speed. As a result, the PES16T4AG2 ports never
set the ‘Autonomous Change’ bit in the training sets exchanged with the link partner during link training.
Still, a link partner connected to a PES16T4AG2 downstream port may autonomously change link speed.
When this occurs, the PES16T4AG2 downstream port sets the Link Autonomous Bandwidth Status
(LABWSTS) bit in the PCIELSTS register. A system designer may limit the maximum speed at which each
port operates by changing the target link speed via software or EEPROM and forcing link retraining. Refer
to section Software Management of Link Speed below for further details.
Software Management of Link Speed
Software can interact with the link control and status registers of each port to set the link speed and
receive notification of link speed changes. This gives software the capability to choose the desired link
speed based on system specific criteria. For example, depending on the traffic load expected on a link, soft-
ware can choose to downgrade link speed to 2.5 Gbps in order to reduce power on a low-traffic link and
later upgrade the link to 5.0 Gbps when the bandwidth is required. Software may also choose to change the
link speed due to link reliability reasons (i.e., a link that has reliability problems at 5.0 Gbps may be down-
graded to 2.5 Gbps).
As mentioned above, the Target Link Speed (TLS) field of the Link Control 2 Register (PCIELCTL2) sets
the preferred link speed. By default, the Target Link Speed of each port is set to 5.0 Gbps.
In order to change link speed, software must write to the TLS field of the port’s PCIELCTL2 register and
subsequently force a link retrain by writing to the Link Retrain (LRET) bit of the Link Control (PCIELCTL)
register. Software is notified of link speed changes via the link bandwidth notification mechanism described
in the PCIe specification. This mechanism is enabled by setting the Link Bandwidth Management Interrupt
Enable (LBWINTEN) bit in the PCIELCTL register of switch downstream ports.
When the link speed is changed (i.e., due to reliability reasons or by virtue of software setting the TLS
field and retraining the link), the downstream port’s LTSSM sets the Link Bandwidth Management Status
(LBWSTS) bit in the PCIELSTS register. Software can verify the link speed by reading the Current Link
Speed (CLS) field of the port’s Link Status Register (PCIELSTS). Note that to force link speed to a value
other than the default value, the TLS field could be configured through Serial EEPROM initialization and full
link retraining forced. Finally, note that the Hardware Autonomous Speed Disable (HASD) bit has no effect
on link speed changes triggered by modifications of the TLS field followed by setting the LRET bit.
Link Reliability
An unreliable link is a link that exhibits recurrent errors detected in the physical layer. These errors
include bit-flipping due to electrical problems, SerDes transmitter and receiver problems, lack of synchroni-
zation between transmitter and receiver, etc. All of these usually result in LCRC failures at the data-link
layer. In severe cases, link reliability problems cause the link to be automatically retrained (refer to section
Link Retraining on page 3-7). As the link speed increases (i.e., Gen2 in PCI Express 2.0), the link is more
susceptible to link errors due to tighter margins in the data window.
Software may assess the reliability of the link using the PCIe Advanced Error Reporting (AER) structure
or other means offered by the switch or its link partners. In response to an unreliable link, software can
manage the link speed and link width in order to improve the reliability of the link. For additional information,
refer to section Software Management of Link Speed on page 3-5.
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Страница 14: ...IDT List of Tables PES16T4AG2 User Manual vi May 23 2013 Notes...
Страница 16: ...IDT List of Figures PES16T4AG2 User Manual viii May 23 2013 Notes...
Страница 20: ...IDT Register List PES16T4AG2 User Manual xii May 23 2013 Notes...
Страница 72: ...IDT SMBus Interfaces PES16T4AG2 User Manual 5 20 May 23 2013 Notes...
Страница 76: ...IDT Power Management PES16T4AG2 User Manual 6 4 May 23 2013 Notes...
Страница 156: ...IDT Configuration Registers PES16T4AG2 User Manual 8 74 May 23 2013 Notes...