3. A Tour of RAD-Comet3 Hardware
3.1. Label and Status Indicators
3.1.1. Ethernet Port Status Information (Comet3)
The statuses of Ethernet Ports 1-7 are displayed in the row of tri-colored LED’s at the top of the
label. The information displayed has 4 different contexts with the active context indicated by
the column of green LEDs in the bottom right of the label. The context can be changed by pressing 
Active Context |
LED Behavior |
Port Status |
(Activity) |
Green |
Frame Transmitted |
Blue |
Frame Received |
|
Red |
Error (e.g. Bad CRC, PLCA error) |
|
|
Green |
BEACON present |
Red |
Collision |
|
Yellow |
Jabber |
|
Magenta |
Unexpected BEACON |
|
Blue |
Empty Cycle |
|
White |
CSMA/CD Mode |
|
|
R/Y/G |
See chart below |
|
Off |
Disabled |
Solid Green |
Leader |
|
Blinking Green |
Follower/Locked |
|
Blinking Yellow |
Follower/Not Locked |
|
Red |
Error |
Signal Quality Index (SQI )
SQI is a 3-bit value reported by the PHY that correlates with the BER (Bit Error Ratio) of the link communication. The behavior of the SQI LED is shown below.
Red |
SQI = 0 |
BER > 10e-10 |
SQI = 1 |
||
SQI = 2 |
||
Yellow |
SQI = 3 |
BER < 10e-10 |
SQI = 4 |
||
Green |
SQI = 5 |
|
SQI = 6 |
||
SQI = 7 |
3.1.2. Ethernet Port Mode Display
Holding 
will display the port configuration of each port until it is released.
Reference the following tables for how the speed and mode are represented
for the BASE-T1 ports and PLCA configuration is represented for T1S ports.
T1 Speed and Mode (AE01)
Yellow |
100M |
Solid |
Master |
Slow Blink |
Slave |
||
Rapid Flash |
Auto |
||
Green |
1G |
Solid |
Master |
Slow Blink |
Slave |
||
Rapid Flash |
Auto |
||
Red |
Auto (Speed) |
Solid |
Master |
Slow Blink |
Slave |
||
Rapid Flash |
Auto |
T1S PLCA Configuration (AE02-AE07)
LED Behavior |
PLCA Node ID |
Green |
ID0 |
Yellow, flash=1 |
ID1 |
Yellow, flash=2 |
ID2 |
Yellow, flash=3 |
ID3 |
Yellow, flash=4 |
ID4 |
Yellow, flash=5 |
ID5 |
Yellow, flash=6 |
ID6 |
Yellow, flash=7 |
ID7 |
Solid Red |
CSMA |
Note:
The settings described in this section can also be modified using neoVI Explorer or Intrepid’s open source cross-platform device communication API. (explained later in this guide)
3.2. Bootloader Mode
You may see all the LEDs on the top label flashing synchronously. This means the device is in bootloader mode, which should only happen when flashing the device’s firmware. If this is observed unexpectedly or following a firmware update, please contact customer support for assistance.
3.3. TC10 - Automotive Ethernet Sleep/Wake-up
A requirement of every modern vehicle is for its subsystems to enter a power saving mode to minimize power when not in use, as well as the ability to quickly resume operation on demand.
TC10 optimizes vehicle architectures using Automotive Ethernet by eliminating the need for dedicated wake-up signals or power mode management using CAN (or possibly other networks). It is a realized by features built into the PHY and requires no involvement of higher layers (MAC and software stacks).
TC10 should not be confused with Energy Efficient Ethernet
EEE is a mode of lower current consumption when link is idle, or communication is asymmetric.
EEE has no concept of sleep/wake, only mode changes based on link activity.
EEE is not only incapable of a system level power mode strategy, but aspects of it can also be problematic to automotive use cases.
TC10 only applies to Automotive Ethernet
TC10 does not apply to any non-automotive Ethernet physical layers. (such as 100/1000BASE-T)
The commands for sleep and wake-up exchanged between PHYs are buried in previously unused bits of the OAM frame (Operations Administration and Maintenance). These OAM “symbols” are not directly accessible by upper layers. The power moding application of a device must use low-level PHY register reads and writes to invoke commands or determine the power mode state of the PHY. This register access for Intrepid products is provided in one of 3 ways.
Any of these software packages will provide MDIO PHY register access for Intrepid devices The interface varies by port on each device that supports TC10. The following table summarizes the ports on devices that support TC10. (Ports not listed in this table do not support TC10.)
MDIO over I2C |
MDIO over SPI |
MDIO (direct) |
non-TC10 Ports |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
SFP Devices |
xBASE-T1 |
|||
RAD-Moon2 |
100/1000BASE-T1 |
100/1000BASE-T |
||
RAD-Moon3 |
MultiGBASE-T1 |
MultiGBASE-T |
||
RAD-Comet2 |
AE01 (100/1000BASE-T1) |
ETH01, AE02, AE03 |
||
RAD-Comet3 |
AE02-AE07 (T1S) |
AE01 (100/1000BASE-T1) |
ETH01 |
If you are having trouble finding or installing the software, please contact our customer support at icssupport@intrepidcs.com
Register Information
The register information and sequence of operations to use the TC10 features of a PHY are unique for each PHY. This information is distributed under NDA and must be obtained directly from the semiconductor manufacturer.
3.4. MACsec
MACsec (802.1AE) is a Layer 2 protocol that can ensure data integrity and authenticity, as well as data encyption. The OPEN Alliance TC17 has drafted the MACsec Automotive Profile to adapt the broad standards of 802.1AE to automotive applications.
The use and operation of MACsec is well beyond the scope of this guide, but many Intrepid products contain Automotive Ethernet PHYs with MACsec support. The MACsec configuration is sent to the PHY over MDIO using either of the following software packages.
The interface varies by port on each device that supports MACsec. The following table summarizes the interfaces used on each port on devices that support MACsec. (Ports not listed in this table do not support MACsec.)
MDIO over I2C |
MDIO over SPI |
MDIO (direct) |
non-MACsec Ports |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
SFP Devices |
xBASE-T1 |
|||
RAD-Moon2 |
100/1000BASE-T1 |
100/1000BASE-T |
||
RAD-Moon3 |
MultiGBASE-T1 |
MultiGBASE-T |
||
RAD-Comet2 |
AE1 (100/1000BASE-T1) |
ETH01, AE2, AE3 |
||
RAD-Comet3 |
AE1 (100/1000BASE-T1) |
ETH01, AE2-AE7 |
If you are having trouble finding or installing the software, please contact our customer support at icssupport@intrepidcs.com
Register Information
The register information related to the MACsec features of a PHY are unique for each PHY. This information is distributed under NDA and must be obtained directly from the semiconductor manufacturer.
3.5. Connector Interfaces
3.5.1. Power/USB/1000BASE-T Interfaces
Barrel Jack (Left):
The device can be powered using a DC supply between 5.5-40V volts with a minimum power of 10 Watts. Using a power supply that does not meet these requirements may cause the device to malfunction or be permanently damaged.
USB Type C (Center):
This serves as a connection to a host computer for configuration, firmware updates, and PHY register access.
Note
RAD-Comet3 cannot be powered by the USB connection.
ETH 01 (Right)
The industry standard RJ-45 Ethernet jack is a 10/100/1000BASE-T port that can be used to connect to a host computer or be used as a network port for sending and receiving Ethernet traffic.
Link LED (Green): Indicates that a valid link has been established between your device and another 10/100/1000 Ethernet device.
Activity LED (Orange): Flashes when traffic passes in either direction over the attached Ethernet cable.
In normal operation you should see the Link LED always on, and the Activity LED flashing at a variable rate, with faster flashing meaning that more data is being transferred.
3.5.2. Ethernet Interfaces
AE01
The H-MTD connector on the left is a 100/1000BASE-T1 port with the following following pin assignments.
H-MTD Connector Pinout |
||
Pin # |
Label |
Description |
1 |
TRD+ |
Data transmit and receive, positive |
2 |
TRD- |
Data transmit and receive, negative |
AE02 - AE05
The left IX connector contains 4x 10BASE=T1S ports. Unlike the daisy-chain (in/out) configuration on the RAD-Comet2, each port is connected to only 2 pins.
PIN |
FUNCTION |
1 |
AE_02_P |
2 |
AE_02_N |
3 |
GND |
4 |
AE_04_P |
5 |
AE_04_N |
6 |
AE_03_P |
7 |
AE_03_N |
8 |
GND |
9 |
AE_05_P |
10 |
AE_05_N |
AE06-AE07
The right IX connector contains 2x 10BASE=T1S ports. Unlike the daisy-chain (in/out) configuration on the RAD-Comet2, each port is connected to only 2 pins.
PIN |
FUNCTION |
1 |
AE_06_P |
2 |
AE_06_N |
3 |
GND |
4 |
NC |
5 |
NC |
6 |
AE_07_P |
7 |
AE_07_N |
8 |
GND |
9 |
NC |
10 |
NC |
3.5.3. DB-9 Connector
The DB-9 connector on the right holds two CAN FD channels, 1 LIN Channel, and can also be used to power the RAD-Comet2. Pin assignments are listed in the table below. See this section for detail on power supply requirements.
Pin |
Signal |
|---|---|
1 |
LIN (Must use isolated GND) |
2 |
CAN 1 L |
3 |
Isolated GND |
4 |
CAN 2 L |
5 |
GND |
6 |
Isolated GND |
7 |
CAN 1 H |
8 |
CAN 2 H |
9 |
VBATT |