Microsemi VSC8257, VSC8258 User Manual

ENT-AN1280

User Guide

VSC8257/VSC8258 Evaluation Board

October 2018

VSC8257/VSC8258 Evaluation Board

Contents

1 Revision History ............................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Revision 1.3 ........................................................................................................................................ 1

1.2 Revision 1.2 ........................................................................................................................................ 1

1.3 Revision 1.1 ........................................................................................................................................ 1

1.4 Revision 1.0 ........................................................................................................................................ 1

2 VSC8257/VSC8258 Evaluation Board ............................................................................................. 2

2.1 References .......................................................................................................................................... 2

3 Quick Start ..................................................................................................................................... 3

4 Hardware Options ......................................................................................................................... 4

4.1 Power Supply Options ........................................................................................................................ 4

4.2 Reference Clock Options .................................................................................................................... 4

5 Software ......................................................................................................................................... 5

5.1 USBXpress® Driver Installation ........................................................................................................... 5

5.2 GUI Setup ............................................................................................................................................ 5

5.3 Main Page ........................................................................................................................................... 6

5.4 Routing ............................................................................................................................................... 7

5.5 BIST ..................................................................................................................................................... 8

5.6 SFP+ .................................................................................................................................................... 9

5.7 Register List ........................................................................................................................................ 9

5.8 RMON ............................................................................................................................................... 10

5.9 KR Status ........................................................................................................................................... 10

5.10 I/O Control ...................................................................................................................................... 11

5.11 Clocking .......................................................................................................................................... 11

5.12 Command Line Interface ................................................................................................................ 12

6 Usage Examples ........................................................................................................................... 14

6.1 Packet BIST ....................................................................................................................................... 14

6.2 PRBS31 BER ...................................................................................................................................... 14

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VSC8257/VSC8258 Evaluation Board

1 Revision History

The revision history describes the changes that were implemented in the document. The changes are
listed by revision, starting with the most current publication.

1.1 Revision 1.3

Revision 1.3 was published in September 2018. There were no changes to the technical content.

1.2 Revision 1.2

Revision 1.2 was published in October 2016. The latest GUI interface was added.

1.3 Revision 1.1

Revision 1.1 was published in October 2015. The improved interface was added.

1.4 Revision 1.0

Revision 1.0 was published in June 2014. It was the first publication of this document.

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2 VSC8257/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, shown as follows. On-board
voltage regulators are used to supply the 1.0 V, 1.2 V, and 2.5 V power rails for the device.

Figure 1 • VSC8258 Evaluation Board

The following sections detail the evaluation board configuration and the features of the hardware and
software associated with the board. While VSC8258EV is used throughout this document, the
VSC8257EV will behave similarly.

2.1 References

The following documents provide more information on the device and evaluation board.

VSC8258 datasheet
VSC8258 evaluation board schematics

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3 Quick Start

The following items are recommended for use during evaluation of the evaluation board.

VSC8257/8258 evaluation board (included in the kit)
USB cable (included in the kit)
GUI installation file (available on the website)
SR/LR SFP+ module (not included)
Fiber patch cable (not included)
Pattern generator or protocol tester
Oscilloscope
Personal computer running Windows XP or 7

The following steps allow a user to bring up the VSC8258EV, receive traffic from a tester, loop traffic
internal to the device, and transmit back to the tester.

Provide 5 V power supply to the evaluation board.
Connect the USB cable to the evaluation board (J34) and to a PC.
Insert a 10G module into P1 (channel 2).
Connect the optical patch cable to the module and to the 10G tester.
Install the USB driver as described in section .USBXpress® Driver Installation
Install the GUI software as described in section .GUI Setup
Launch the GUI.
From the EVB connection window, select the matching board serial number and click .Launch GUI
The clock is pre-configured at 156.25 MHz.
On the main page, click the option. This will initialize the device. Due to the speed of 10G LAN Mode
the microcontroller and USB interface, this operation may take a minute. During initialization, the
bottom status bar will indicate initialization in progress. When completed, the text will change to
indicate so. Closing the GUI and re-launching without power cycling the board or pressing the reset
button will retain the previously initialized mode.
After initialization, the respective line- or host-side Rx and Tx PLL status will show a green state. The
10G protocol tester should also indicate a link-up condition. Because there is no valid data present
at the XAUI receiver, end-to-end traffic will not flow.
On the Routing tab, enable Loopback L3 for channel 0 (R)XAUI Rx. The 10G tester should now see
valid packets at its receiver.

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VSC8257/VSC8258 Evaluation Board

4 Hardware Options

The following sections describe the hardware options.

4.1 Power Supply Options

The evaluation board can also be powered by an external 5 V power supply. Use a pair of banana cables
to connect a bench-style power supply capable of 4 A at 5 V to the board. Connect 5 V to J45 and GND
to J46.

4.2 Reference Clock Options

The evaluation board is preconfigured with a clock frequency of 156.25 MHz.

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