PHYSCIAL LAYER DEVICE HAVING AN ANALOG SERDES PASS THROUGH MODE

摘要

A physical layer device (PLD) (102) includes a first serializer-deserializer (SERDES) device (110, 112 or 114) and a second SERDES device (110, 112 or 114) . Each SERDES device (110, 112 or 114) includes an analog portion with a serial port (104, 106 or 108) that is configured to communicate serial data with various network devices (120, 124 and 128), and a digital portion that is configured to communicate parallel data (159, 189 and 177) with other various network devices. The PLD includes a first signal path (192-193) that is configured to route serial data signals between the analog portions of the SERDES devices, bypassing the digital portions of the SERDES devices. Therefore, the SERDES devices can directly communicate serial data without performing parallel data conversion. A second signal path (192-193) is configured to route recovered clock and data signals between the analog portions of the SERDES devices, but still bypassing the digital portions of the SERDES devices. The recovered clock and data signals are then regenerated before being transmitted over a network device.