
GT-48004A Four Port Switched Fast Ethernet Controller
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Revision 1.0
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Figure 1: Typical 16-port 10/100-Mbps Switch Implementation
1.3
Address Recognition
Each GT-48004A in a system can recognize up to 8,000 different Unicast MAC addresses and unlimited Multicast/
Broadcast MAC addresses. An intelligent address recognition mechanism enables filtering and forwarding packets at
full Fast Ethernet wire speed. Hardware assist for address aging and static addresses is also included.
The GT-48004A provides an address self-learning mechanism. Each device has a private address table located in its
DRAM array. As the GT-48004A learns new addresses, it updates all address tables in the system via the GalNet mes-
saging protocol.
1.4
CPU Packet Routing
The GT-48004A has the capability to automatically forward certain packets to the CPU for routing including:
Unicast packets with a destination address tagged for the CPU
Multicast packets
Unknown packets (packets with MAC addresses that have not been recognized)
This gives the system designer the flexibility to decide how to handle such packets in a managed system.
1.5
Intervention Mode
The GT-48004A incorporates an enhanced feature called
intervention mode. This feature permits software or hardware
intervention in the packet routing decision mechanisms for unicast packets. When intervention mode is selected for a
MAC address, the GT-48004A sends the packet to the system CPU instead of switching it as usual. This capability can
be used for many functions including: layer 3 routing, security, virtual LAN support, filtering and management.
1.6
VLAN Support
The GT-48004A supports port based VLANs that allow for efficient filtering of broadcast/multicast domains as well as
isolation of unicast traffic for security. Each port can be defined to be a member of a single VLAN, or as a member of a
“Super-VLAN” that spans one or more simple VLANs. VLAN support in the GT-48004A is described in detail in a sep-
EDO
DRAM
GT-48004A
4
x
MII
MII PHY
Devices
4 x Fast Ethernet
EDO
DRAM
EDO
DRAM
GT-48004A
4
x
MII
MII PHY
Devices
4 x Fast Ethernet
EDO
DRAM
EDO
DRAM
GT-48004A
4
x
MII
MII PHY
Devices
4 x Fast Ethernet
EDO
DRAM
EDO
DRAM
GT-48004A
4
x
MII
MII PHY
Devices
4 x Fast Ethernet
EDO
DRAM
FAST PCI
MEMORY
CPU
GT-64111
SYSTEM
CONTROLLER
WITH FAST PCI
Management CPU is optional.