Multilink SerDes Framing With CRC for Lower Overhead Error Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing communication systems face inefficiencies in data transmission due to the overhead required by 8b/10b encoding, which reduces the number of packets that can be transmitted across a given period, especially when dealing with multi-link serial interfaces, as it adds additional bits that occupy bandwidth.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a method that breaks packets into frames, uses cyclic redundancy checks (CRC) for error detection, and employs virtual delimiters to identify packet boundaries, allowing for more efficient data transmission by reducing overhead and avoiding run length and DC imbalance issues through scrambling and descrambling techniques.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If 8b/10b encoding is used for data transmission, then error detection capability is improved, but channel utilization efficiency deteriorates due to overhead bits
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the error detection mechanism by applying CRC only to data frames rather than embedding error detection in every encoded symbol. This separation allows the majority of transmitted bits to carry useful data while error detection is performed periodically on reconstructed frames, improving channel utilization while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the error detection parameter from symbol-level checking (inherent in 8b/10b) to frame-level CRC checking. This parameter change reduces the frequency of error detection operations from every symbol to every frame, significantly improving channel utilization while maintaining adequate error detection capability through the more powerful CRC algorithm.
2Reliability
If more overhead bits are added for error detection, then transmission reliability is improved, but data transmission rate deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the error detection overhead from the data stream by using separate CRC fields only in specific frame structures rather than embedding error detection bits in every data symbol. This allows data to be transmitted at full rate with minimal overhead inserted only where frames are delimited and error detection is performed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies error detection partially rather than continuously - using CRC only for frames that require error detection while allowing other transmissions to proceed with minimal overhead. This partial application of error detection maintains transmission reliability for critical data while maximizing overall data transmission rate.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for receiving packet data at a communication channel and transmitting the packet data over serial links of the communication channel. The packet data is sliced into n-bit data portions which are concatenated with a header prior to transmitting an n-bit portion across one of the serial links of the communication channel. The header includes a CRC to provide improved error detection.