Flexible Channel Bonding Architecture for High-Speed Serial Interfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing high-speed serial interface technologies face challenges in optimizing channel utilization while maintaining low-skew performance, as previous architectures are rigid and do not decouple control-plane and data-aggregation channel bonding effectively.
Innovation Solution
A new circuit architecture that decouples the granularity of control-plane channel bonding from data-aggregation channel bonding, allowing flexible configuration and optimization, and separates logical user channel boundaries from physical PCS module boundaries, enabling efficient resource usage and power savings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If rigid channel bonding architecture is used, then implementation simplicity is maintained, but channel utilization and flexibility are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the channel bonding architecture into separate control-plane and data-aggregation components, allowing independent configuration and optimization of each plane. This segmentation enables flexible channel bonding configurations without increasing overall system complexity, as each segment can be configured independently based on specific application requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic channel bonding where the granularity of control-plane bonding can be independently adjusted from data-aggregation bonding granularity. This dynamic configuration allows the system to adapt to different bandwidth requirements and performance constraints, transforming a rigid architecture into a flexible one that can optimize channel utilization based on real-time needs.
2Productivity
If control-plane and data-aggregation bonding are coupled, then architecture simplicity is maintained, but optimization capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates control-plane channel bonding from data-aggregation channel bonding into distinct functional blocks. This segmentation allows independent optimization of control signal routing and data signal aggregation, enabling higher channel utilization by configuring each plane according to its specific performance requirements without being constrained by the other plane's configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer between control-plane and data-aggregation bonding that enables flexible interaction between the two planes. This intermediary mechanism allows the system to achieve optimized channel utilization by coordinating control and data bonding independently while maintaining overall system coherence, without requiring complex integrated configuration.
3Adaptability or versatility
If logical channel boundaries are tied to physical PCS module boundaries, then implementation is simplified, but resource allocation flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mapping between logical user channels and physical PCS modules into independent control-plane and data-aggregation components. This segmentation decouples the logical and physical boundaries, allowing flexible resource allocation where logical channels can be dynamically assigned to different physical modules based on availability and performance requirements, while maintaining implementation simplicity through modular architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal channel bonding framework where the same physical PCS modules can serve multiple logical channels with different bonding configurations. This multi-functionality allows a single physical module to be dynamically allocated to different logical channels based on system needs, greatly enhancing resource allocation flexibility while maintaining implementation simplicity through standardized module interfaces.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present application discloses apparatus and methods for increasing channel utilization for a high-speed serial interface of an integrated circuit (IC). A new circuit architecture is disclosed which provides circuitry that may be programmed flexibly to support a multitude of different channel bonding schemes. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the new architecture decouples the granularity of control-signal channel bonding from the granularity of data-aggregation channel bonding. This advantageously allows optimization of configurations for both types of channel bonding. In another aspect of the invention, the logical boundaries of bonded user channels are decoupled from the physical boundaries of the PCS modules. This decoupling advantageously eliminates a rigid constraint of previous architectures.