Description
The Am79C978A device is AMD's first home networking product. AMD is pioneering home networking by building LAN silicon solutions that bring the user easy-to-use, inexpensive home networking utilizing the existing in-home phone wiring.

The Am79C978A device contains an Ethernet controller based on the Am79C971 Fast Ethernet controller, a physical layer device (PHY) for supporting the IEEE 802.3 standard for 10BASE-T, and a physical layer device for conventional data networking at speeds up to 1 megabit per second (Mbps) over existing residential telephone wiring. This integrated HomePNA (Home Phoneline Networking Alliance) transceiver provides 1 Mbps home phoneline networking regardless of topology and without disrupting telephone (POTS) service.

The integrated PCI Ethernet controller is a highly integrated, 32-bit, full-duplex, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet controller solution designed to address high-performance system application requirements. It is a flexible bus-mastering device that can be used in any application, including network ready PCs. The bus master architecture provides high data throughput and low CPU and system bus utilization.

The built-in Ethernet transceiver is a physical layer device supporting the IEEE 802.3 standards for 10BASE-T. It provides all of the PHY layer functions required to support 10 Mbps data transfer speeds. The 32-bit multiplexed bus interface unit provides a direct interface to the PCI local bus, simplifying the design of an Ethernet or home network node in a PC system. The device has built-in support for both little and big endian byte alignment. The integrated home networking controller's advanced CMOS design allows the bus interface to be connected to either a +5.0 V or a +3.3 V signaling environment. The integrated Am79C978A home networking controller is also compliant with the PC98, PC99, Net PC, and HomePNA 1.1 specifications. It includes the full implementation of the Microsoft OnNow and ACPI specifications, which are backward compatible with AMD's industry standard Magic Packet™ technology, and is compliant with the PCI Bus Power Management Interface Specification by supporting the four power management states (D0, D1, D2, and D3), the optional PME pin, and the necessary configuration and data registers.

• Integrated Fast Ethernet controller for the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus
• Fully Integrated 10 Mbps PHY with Full-duplex and auto-negotiation capability
• Fully Integrated 1 Mbps HomePNA PHY which is optimized for home networking applications over existing telephone wire
• Compliant to the HomePNA 1Mbps phoneline specification effort
• Media Independent Interface (MII) for connecting external 10/100 Mbps transceivers
• Integrated oscillator circuit eliminates need for external crystal
• Supports PC98/PC99 and Net PC specifications
• Extensive programmable LED status support
• Software compatible with AMD's PCnet™ Family and LANCE™/C-LANCE™ register and descriptor architecture
• Available in 144-pin TQFP and 160-pin PQFP packages

Low Cost
The Am79C978A controller is aimed at the PC motherboard and the Network Interface Card (NIC), but it is also suitable for hotel, apartment, and multi-dwelling unit networking applications. AMD provides HomePNA reference designs based on the PCnet-Home devices to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), just as it does for its Ethernet silicon.

The cost for connecting a PC or a printer to the home phoneline network is in line with the cost of 10BASE-T networking, without requiring the use of network-grade wiring. With new highly integrated silicon from AMD, HomePNA NICs can be manufactured to sell below $50, or simply be integrated onto the PC or printer motherboard.

The home phoneline network's 1 Mbps data rate supports responsive application sharing, file sharing, and peripheral sharing.

Complete Solution
With AMD's complete phoneline networking silicon and software solution, a home phoneline network is easy to install and simple to use. The Am79C978A controller uses the same Windows NDIS driver model used by AMD's PCnet Ethernet controllers. With home phoneline capability integrated into AMD's network drivers, the Windows operating system automatically detects all of the HomePNA nodes plugged into the network, and its Plug-and-Play capability automatically installs them on the network.

Installation is accomplished with little configuration required from the end user. True Plug-and-Play operation, supported in Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and NT, frees users from having to deal with any complex software settings.

any1Home™ Link Detection
While consuming minimal network resources, AMD's innovated any1Home Link Detection Packet provides a means to indicate to the MAC and thus the upper layers of the system protocol that a valid network (as defined by a Link Detection) has been detected. The Link Detection Packet is also capable of detecting a network failure and allows the upper layer protocol to take corrective action. Thus, the Link Detection Packet ensures strict compliance to the Microsoft PC98, PC99, and HomePNA requirements.

Am79C978A Home Networking Controller Block Diagram