5.1 KiB
FS SFP-10G-T-100 (Broadcom BCM84891L)
Documented, robust — survived the whole poking campaign un-bricked. Honest EEPROM (RJ45/10GBASE-T codes), which is what trips stock ixgbe qualification (../README.md).
References in this directory: bcm84891l-mdio-commands.md (command handler, transcribed), bcm84891l-sfp-registers.md (transport reference, transcribed), and their source PDFs.
SMI transport (I2C→MDIO bridge)
PHY at I2C 8-bit 0xAC write / 0xAD read.
| Op | Frames |
|---|---|
| Clause-45 write | one I2C write to 0xAC: [000+DevAD, RegH, RegL, DataH, DataL] |
| Clause-45 read | I2C write to 0xAC: [001+DevAD, RegH, RegL] → delay >1 ms (3 ms proven) → I2C read 2 B from 0xAD |
- Single-byte reads see the bridge as inert (returns 0) — the DevAD-prefixed frame + delay is mandatory. This is why early probing wrongly declared 0x56 dead. Treat 0x0000 reads as retry-with-longer-delay: 0 is also the bridge's not-ready signature.
- Recorded for a future multi-byte firmware transport (mlx5 MCIA shape): read = write
[001+devad,RegH,RegL]offset_size=1, STOP, >1 ms, read 2 B offset_size=0; write = offset_size=2, addr = devad<<8|RegH, data =[RegL,DataH,DataL].
MDIO command handler
Protocol and full verified catalog: bcm84891l-mdio-commands.md. Traps:
- SET commands execute stale DATA1 — the handler never clears DATA registers; write every parameter register explicitly before any SET.
- Poll STATUS ~100 ms; frozen up to 2 s during 10GBASE-T training — only run after link-up.
Proven diagnostics
| Capability | How | Observed |
|---|---|---|
| Per-pair SNR | CMD_GET_SNR 0x8030, invoked bare (writing the documented DATA1 display flag returns zeros; IEEE 1.133–1.140 never populate — constant 0x8080) |
DATA2–5 = SNR A–D ×0.1 dB; ≈ 27–32 dB absolute on bench, 0.1–0.4 dB jitter. 10GBASE-T operating point ≈ 26.5 dB, so margin ≈ value − 26.5 |
| Die temperature | CMD_GET_CURRENT_TEMP 0x8031 |
~68–70 °C on bench |
| Supply rails | GET_CURRENT_VOLTAGE 0x802F |
0.8 V and 1.88 V rails, tenths of mV |
| Error counters | IEEE PCS 3.32/3.33 — block lock, latched errored-block/BER, clear-on-read | The noise-stress error proxy |
| Retrain on demand | IEEE AN restart 7.0 |= bit9 |
Relinks in ~5–6 s |
Probed configuration states
| Item | Command | State |
|---|---|---|
| EEE / AutogrEEEn | 0x8008/0x8009 | Once read 0x0047 (10G AutogrEEEn variable latency + 5G/1G native — local-only, invisible in IEEE 7.60/7.61, which read 0); later reads 0. Forced all-off via SET with explicit params (0, 0, 0x7A12, 0x480, 0) + AN restart, verified. cabletest should apply this defensively at bringup |
| EEE wire-truth | arm 0x801A after link-up, read 0x801B | Zero LPI events/duration on idle link; repeat under traffic |
| Fast retrain | 0x800A (datasheet titles it EMI_MODE; description is fast retrain) | Enabled 10G/5G/2.5G; IEEE 1.147 = 0x0019, count bits zero. Keep enabled; read the 1.147 count per run — a marginal cable that fast-retrains still gets counted |
| Pair map | 0x8000 | DATA2 = 0x00E4 = identity (A/B/C/D straight through) — MDI wiring verification works |
| Fault pass-through | 0x800D | 0 = LF/RF pass to the line (0x8011/0x8010 could mask them as IDLE — leave off) |
| Host interface | 0x802B/0x802D/0x8027 | XFI polarity normal; TX FIR = main tap 0x3C only; MAC/PHY frequency locked; KR/SyncE/USXGMII/WOL disabled; jumbo on at 9K; temp warnings off |
| 1588 | 0x8004 | Disabled (engine registers undocumented — see asks below) |
| Limited reach | 0x8006 | Disabled — its DATA3 "linked in LR mode" bit, the only handler-visible trace of the DSP length estimate, is unavailable without a config change |
Firmware-reliability caveat
Several documented DATA1 returns on this ODM firmware are untrustworthy: die-temperature-like values (0x43/0x44/0x46/0x47) appear in DATA1 of commands that should return modes, and repeat reads of the same GET disagree. Corroborate anything load-bearing through IEEE registers (7.60/7.61 for EEE advertisement) or wire behavior (EEE statistics under traffic), and write every DATA register explicitly before any SET.
No cable length — and the asks to FS
The handler catalog is complete (§1.25.1.1–45) and contains no ECD, length, or skew command. Cable length, opens/shorts, pair skew, and polarity live in the separate ECD register mechanism whose chapter FS hasn't sent; the 1588 engine is the same story (one-command enable, undocumented operation — in-PHY timestamping would measure path delay at the MDI, removing PHY-pipeline latency from the length equation; ../../open-questions.md §2). Until either chapter lands, FS-side length comes only from the NIC timestamp path.
Asks, in value order:
- The ECD chapter — shorts/opens/cable length invocation.
- The 1588 operation chapter.
- Datasheet §1.20 loopback (copper line loopback) and §1.17 EEE/fast-retrain monitoring.
- Chapter 2 register summary. The excerpt's TOC names them all.