The clocking architecture for the 10/25G MAC with PCS/PMA clocking is illustrated below. This version of the subsystem includes FIFOs in the RX. There are three clock domains in the datapath, as illustrated by the dashed lines in the following figure.
Figure 1. 10G/25G MAC with PCS/PMA Clocking
- refclk_p0, refclk_n0, tx_serdes_refclk
- The
refclk
differential pair is required to be an input to the FPGA. The example design includes a buffer to convert this clock to a single-ended signalrefclk
, which is used as the reference clock for the GT block. Thetx_serdes_refclk
is directly derived fromrefclk
. Note thatrefclk
must be chosen so that thetx_serdes_refclk
meets the requirements of 802.3, which is within 100 ppm of 390.625 MHz for 25G, 156.25 MHz for 64-bit 10G, and 312.5 MHz for 32-bit 10G. - tx_clk_out
- This clock is used for clocking data into the TX AXI4-Stream Interface and it is also the reference clock for the
TX control and status signals. It is the same frequency as
tx_serdes_refclk
. - rx_clk_out
- The
rx_clk_out
output signal is presented as a reference for the RX control and status signals processed by the RX core. It is the same frequency as therx_serdes_clk
. - rx_clk
- The
rx_clk
is available asrx_core_clk
is the input clk for RX core. This to you, which you must drive from the example design. You can drive therx_core_clk
with any frequency that must be equal to or greater than thetx_clk
. When FIFO is enabled, the most preferred mode of operation for system side datapath is to connect thetx_clk_out
torx_core_clk
. When connected in this manner, the RX AXI4-Stream Interface and the TX AXI4-Stream Interface are on the same clock domain. - dclk
- The
dclk
signal must be a convenient stable clock. It is used as a reference frequency for the GT helper blocks which initiate the GT itself. In the example design, a typical value is 75 MHz, which is readily derived from the 300 MHz clock available on the VCU107 evaluation board. is the input clk for RX core. ThisNote: The actual frequency must be known to the GT helper blocks for proper operation.