The meaning of this field depends on its numeric value. This field can be interpreted as length
or type code. The maximum length of the data field is 1500 octets. If the value of the Length/Type
field is less than or equal to 1500 decimal, it indicates the number of MAC client data octets. If
the value of this field is greater than or equal to 1536 decimal, then it encodes the type
interpretation. The meaning of the Length/Type field when the value is between 1500 and 1536
decimal is unspecified by the IEEE 802.3 standard. However, the Ethernet Controller assumes
type interpretation if the value of the Length/Type field is greater than 1500 decimal. The definition
of the Type field is specified in the IEEE 802.3 standard. The first of the two octets in this field
is most significant.
■ Data
The data field is a sequence of octets that is at least 46 in length, up to 1500 in length. Full data
transparency is provided so any values can appear in this field. A minimum frame size of 46
octets is required to meet the IEEE standard. If the frame size is too small, the Ethernet Controller
automatically appends extra bits (a pad), thus the pad can have a size of 0 to 46 octets. Data
padding can be disabled by clearing the PADEN bit in the Ethernet MAC Transmit Control
(MACTCTL) register.
For the Ethernet Controller, data sent/received can be larger than 1500 bytes without causing
a Frame Too Long error. Instead, a FIFO overrun error is reported using the FOV bit in the
Ethernet MAC Raw Interrupt Status (MACRIS) register when the frame received is too large
to fit into the Ethernet Controller’s 2K RAM.
■ Frame Check Sequence (FCS)
The frame check sequence carries the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value. The CRC is
computed over the destination address, source address, length/type, and data (including pad)
fields using the CRC-32 algorithm. The Ethernet Controller computes the FCS value one nibble
at a time. For transmitted frames, this field is automatically inserted by the MAC layer, unless
disabled by clearing the CRC bit in the MACTCTL register. For received frames, this field is
automatically checked. If the FCS does not pass, the frame is not placed in the RX FIFO, unless
the FCS check is disabled by clearing the BADCRC bit in the MACRCTL register.
16.3.1.2 MAC Layer FIFOs
The Ethernet Controller is capable of simultaneous transmission and reception. This feature is
enabled by setting the DUPLEX bit in the MACTCTL register.
For Ethernet frame transmission, a 2-KB transmit FIFO is provided that can be used to store a single
frame. While the IEEE 802.3 specification limits the size of an Ethernet frame's payload section to
1500 Bytes, the Ethernet Controller places no such limit. The full buffer can be used for a payload
of up to 2032 bytes (as the first 16 bytes in the FIFO are reserved for destination address, source
address and length/type information).
For Ethernet frame reception, a 2-KB receive FIFO is provided that can be used to store multiple
frames, up to a maximum of 31 frames. If a frame is received, and there is insufficient space in the
RX FIFO, an overflow error is indicated using the FOV bit in the MACRIS register.
For details regarding the TX and RX FIFO layout, refer to Table 16-3 on page 762. Please note the
following difference between TX and RX FIFO layout. For the TX FIFO, the Data Length field in the
first FIFO word refers to the Ethernet frame data payload, as shown in the 5th to nth FIFO positions.
For the RX FIFO, the Frame Length field is the total length of the received Ethernet frame, including
the Length/Type bytes and the FCS bits.
If FCS generation is disabled by clearing the CRC bit in the MACTCTL register, the last word in the
TX FIFO must contain the FCS bytes for the frame that has been written to the FIFO.
761July 24, 2012
Texas Instruments-Production Data
Stellaris
®
LM3S6G65 Microcontroller
OBSOLETE: TI has discontinued production of this device.
