Description

As a bridge of the link layer device medium access controller (MAC) and physical medium such as copper cable, the Ethernet physical layer device (PHY) integrates all the physical-layer functions needed to transmit and receive data on standard twisted-pair cables. Proper PHY configuration using management data input/output (MDIO) is fundamental during the prototype stage, and also crucial to meeting the requirements of lowest deterministic latency and fastest link detection in industrial Ethernet applications such as EtherCAT. This application report provides guidance on the Ethernet PHY configuration using the MDIO module within the Programmable-Realtime Unit Industrial Communications Sub-System (PRUICSS) in the Sitara device from TI, for industrial applications, by dissecting the PHY DP83822 configuration in EtherCAT on the AMIC110 Industrial Communications Engine (ICE). The goal of this application report is to expedite the development of industrial Ethernet applications on custom boards with migration and troubleshooting guides for the PHYs.