PATENT ABSTRACT
An Ethernet switch controller with console command logic unit and application apparatus thereof implemented with the least cost. The switch controller includes a serial port interface that connects with an external ASCII console. A user can input a serial character command through this console. The switch controller interprets and executes the command it received. When the command is a read command, the controller sends the result to be displayed on the console. Therefore, advance function commands can be implemented for the Ethernet switch to read data from or write data to a register within the Ethernet switch controller, a physical layer or an EEPROM.

PATENT DESCRIPTION
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 91114491, filed Jul. 1, 2002.  
         BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to an Ethernet apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to an Ethernet switch controller embedded with a console command logic unit and application apparatus thereof.  
           [0004]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0005]    With the rapid advance in electronic technology, computers and various digital information systems are increasingly used in our daily life. To achieve resource sharing, networks have become an indispensable medium to exchange data. Among various types of networking systems, Ethernet Switch apparatus is easily acquired and installed with high data transmission rate, thus becoming the most popular equipment in the state of the art.  
           [0006]    Requiring a physical layer circuit for the network connection ports, the Ethernet switch controller provides core specific application integrated circuits. Many functions including virtual local area network (VLAN), trunking and priority classification all depend on the switch controller. However, the parameters of most conventional switch controllers are set only when the power source is turned on.  
           [0007]    A few other types of conventional switch controller provide a central processing unit (CPU) interface for setting different functional parameters through a microprocessor. Although this arrangement permits setting parameters, the system has the following defects:  
           [0008]    1. Since one must write special microprocessor programs to set the parameters, the design is much complicated.  
           [0009]    2. Because a microprocessor circuit is introduced, additional cost and failure points are incurred and hence reliability of the system is compromised.  
         SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
         [0010]    Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a smart Ethernet switch controller with a console command logic unit capable of setting the parameters of various advance functions inside the switch controller through a serial port connected to the control console.  
           [0011]    To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention provides an Ethernet switch controller with a console command logic unit therein. The switch controller includes a physical layer connection interface, a serial port interface, a command logic unit and a switch controller unit. The physical layer connection interface connects with a physical layer (PHY) that provides a plurality of Ethernet connection ports. The serial port interface connects with a control console through a serial port driver. The switch control unit couples with the physical layer connection interface and the command logic unit for controlling the exchange of Ethernet packets transceived by Ethernet connection ports. The command logic unit couples with the serial port interface for receiving, interpreting and executing the command issued from the control console and responding to the execution results of the command when the command is a read command.  
           [0012]    In one preferred embodiment of this invention, the serial port interface of the Ethernet switch controller is a RS232 interface. The commands are transmitted using the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) code. The connected control console is an ASCII console or a personal computer simulated control console. When the control console is connected to a personal computer, the personal computer may include an application software to provide a personalized interface for users to input commands and display execution results.  
           [0013]    In another preferred embodiment of this invention, the Ethernet switch controller may include an electrical erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) interface for connecting to an EEPROM for storing setting parameters. The Ethernet switch controller is applied to the Ethernet switch for accessing internal registers of the switch control unit, internal registers of the physical layer and the EEPROM so that various parameters of advance functions inside the switch can be set.  
           [0014]    By applying the Ethernet switch controller having a control console command logic unit therein to an Ethernet switch, there is no need to equip a complicated microprocessor and design associated microprocessor programs because the Ethernet switch controller of this invention provides a serial port interface for connecting with the control console and provides a required command interpretation circuit. Therefore this invention achieves advance function setting capability.  
           [0015]    It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary only, but not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings,  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an Ethernet switch controller according to one preferred embodiment of this invention; and  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an Ethernet switch according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0019]    Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an Ethernet switch controller according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an Ethernet switch according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. The Ethernet switch controller  100  in FIG. 1 includes a physical layer connection interface  110 , a serial port interface  120 , a command logic unit  150  and a switch control unit  130 . To permanently store the parameter settings for the controller  100 , such functions as virtual local area network (VLAN), trunking and priority classification, an EEPROM interface  140  is preferably provided in the Ethernet switch controller  100 .  
         [0021]    The physical layer connection interface  110  is an MII interface or SMI interface, for example. The physical layer connection interface  110  couples with a physical layer (PHY)  220  that provides a plurality of Ethernet connection ports. In this embodiment, eight Ethernet connection ports  240 ,  245 ,  250 ,  255 ,  260 ,  265 ,  270  and  275  are provided. Note that the number of Ethernet connection ports in the physical layer (PHY)  220  may change according to the type of Ethernet switch controller  110  used.  
         [0022]    The serial port interface  120  connects with a control console  290  through a serial port driver  230 . In this embodiment, the serial port interface  120  is, for example, an RS232 interface or other types of interface. The serial port driver  230  cooperates with the serial port interface  120 . The control console  290  is, for example, an ASCII console or a personal computer simulated control console. When the control console is a computer-simulated console, the personal computer cooperating with an application software provides a human graphic interface for a user to input commands and display results.  
         [0023]    The command logic unit  150  couples with the serial port interface  120  for receiving signals from the RS232 serial port, interpreting the signals and executing the command issued by the control console  290 . Furthermore, the command logic unit  150  also responds to the execution result of the command when the command is a read command.  
         [0024]    The switch control unit  130  couples with the physical layer connection interface  110 , the command logic unit  150  and the EEPROM interface  140  for controlling the exchange of Ethernet packets transceiving through various Ethernet connection ports  240 ,  245 ,  250 ,  255 ,  260 ,  265 ,  270  and  275 . By loading functional parameters from the EEPROM  280  or writing functional parameters to the EEPROM  280  via the EEPROM interface  140 , functions such as VLAN, trunking and priority classification are adjusted. In addition, the command logic unit  150  is able to access the EEPROM  280  and internal registers of switch control unit  130  according to the control console command.  
         [0025]    For example, the following command format is defined for the commands issued by the control console  290 :  
         [0026]    &lt;prompt&gt;[&lt;address&gt;&lt;operator&gt;[&lt;data&gt;]]&lt;carriage return&gt; 
         [0027]    Here, the command prompt is, for example, the symbol “&gt;”. The symbol is issued by the on-line Ethernet switch controller  100 . Thereafter, a user may start to key in a command string following the prompt symbol. The command string includes the address for accessing the internal registers or data in the EEPROM, the operation field indicating the command type, the data field to provide a write data and the carriage return field indicating the end of the command string. The address field is represented, preferably, by four hexadecimal byte words. The data field is not required for a data read command. For a data write command, a decimal or hexadecimal byte word value is input according to the operator.  
         [0028]    The operators for different commands are listed as follows, for example: Operator “&lt;=” represents a read/write command using a decimal format to access an internal register of the switch controller.  
         [0029]    Operator “:=” represents a read/write command using a hexadecimal format to access an internal register of the switch controller.  
         [0030]    Operator “= =” represents a read/write EEPROM command using a hexadecimal format.  
         [0031]    Operator “{circumflex over ( )}=” represents a read/write command using a hexadecimal format to access an internal register of the physical layer device.  
         [0032]    When the data field is absent, a read data command is implicated. Otherwise, a write data command is implicated. Of course, before typing the carriage return, pressing the backspace key is able to correct any incorrect input words. Command examples are provided in the following:  
         [0033]    “[Enter]” represents a return key.  
         [0034]    “&gt;[Enter]” indicates the input command word is a null command.  
         [0035]    “&gt;03F8&lt;=123[Enter]” indicates writing a decimal value 123 to the register 03F8h inside the switch controller.  
         [0036]    “&gt;03F8&lt;=[Enter]” indicates reading the register at address 03F8h inside the switch controller in decimal format.  
         [0037]    “123” indicates a decimal reading result 123 on the display.  
         [0038]    “&gt;03F8:=1F[Enter]” indicates writing a hexadecimal value 1F to the register at 03F8h inside the switch controller.  
         [0039]    “&gt;03F8:=[Enter]” indicates reading a hexadecimal value from the register at address 03F8.  
         [0040]    “1F” indicates a hexadecimal reading result 1F on the display.  
         [0041]    “&gt;0001= =[Enter]” indicates writing the hexadecimal value 0A from the EEPROM at address 0001h.  
         [0042]    “&gt;0001= =[Enter]” indicates reading the hexadecimal value from the EEPROM at address 0001h.  
         [0043]    “0A” indicates a hexadecimal reading result 0A on the display.  
         [0044]    “&gt;0004{circumflex over ( )}=[Enter]” indicates reading the hexadecimal value from the register at address 0004h inside the physical layer (PHY).  
         [0045]    “03” indicates a hexadecimal reading result 03 on the display.  
         [0046]    “&gt;” is a prompt symbol waiting for the next key-in command.  
         [0047]    For system safety, the password verification function should be provided. That is, on system start-up or when an input command period, such as 60 seconds, has already expired, a specific command should be provided for password verification. For example, to store a password 1234 in EEPROM addresses 00FEh and 00FFh, the command 00FE = = 12 and the command 00FF = = 34 are input to the switch controller to identify. If the input code is incorrect, the system stops any input command for a period, such as 15 seconds. Thereafter, a command prompt symbol is displayed waiting for the input of another command.  
         [0048]    In summary, applying the Ethernet switch controller of this invention to the Ethernet switch has at least the following advantages:  
         [0049]    1. Capable of flexibly setting various advance functions inside the switch at low cost.  
         [0050]    2. Greatly simplifying the switch circuit and the associated design for functional setting.  
         [0051]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.