82598EB Datasheet, PDF (481/596 Pages) Intel Corporation – Intel® 82598EB 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller Datasheet

Intel^® 82598EB 10 GbE Controller - Overview
5.4.1 Overview
5.4.1.1 Terminology
The terminology in this section is taken directly from the NC-SI specification and is as follows:
Term
Frame Versus Packet
External Network Interface
Internal Host Interface
Management Controller (MC)
Network Controller (NC)
Remote Media
Network Controller Sideband
Interface
Interface
Integrated Controller
Multi-Drop
Point-to-Point
Channel
Package
Definition
Frame is used in reference to Ethernet, whereas packet is used everywhere else.
The interface of the network controller that provides connectivity to the external network
infrastructure (port).
The interface of the network controller that provides connectivity to the host OS running
on the platform.
An intelligent entity comprising of HW/FW/SW, that resides within a platform and is
responsible for some or all management functions associated with the platform (BMC,
service processor, etc.).
The component within a system that is responsible for providing connectivity to the
external Ethernet networked world.
The capability to allow remote media devices to appear as if they were attached locally to
the host.
The interface of the network controller that provides connectivity to a management
controller. It can be shorten to sideband interface as appropriate in the context.
This refers to the entire physical interface, such as both the transmit and receive interface
between the management controller and the network controller.
The term integrated controller refers to a network controller device that supports two or
more channels for NC-SI that share a common NC-SI physical interface. For example, a
network controller that has two or more physical network ports and a single NC-SI bus
connection.
Multi-drop commonly refers to the case where multiple physical communication devices
share an electrically common bus and a single device acts as the master of the bus and
communicates with multiple slave or target devices. In NC-SI, a management controller
serves the role as the master, and the network controllers are the target devices.
Point-to-point commonly refers to the case where only two physical communication
devices are interconnected via a physical communication medium. The devices might be in
a master/slave relationship, or could be peers. In NC-SI, point-to-point operation refers to
the situation where only a single management controller and single network controller
package are used on the bus in a master/slave relationship where the management
controller is the master.
The control logic and data paths supporting NC-SI pass-through operation on a single
network interface (port). A network controller that has multiple network interface ports
can support an equivalent number of NC-SI channels.
One or more NC-SI channels in a network controller that share a common set of electrical
buffers and common buffer control for the NC-SI bus. Typically, there will be a single,
logical NC-SI package for a single physical network controller package (chip or module).
However, the specification allows a single physical chip or module to hold multiple NC-SI
logical packages.
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