4Platform Notes: The Sun GigabitEthernet Device Driver • March 1999
Configuring the Driver ParametersThis section provides an overview of the capabilities of the GigabitEthernet ASIC
used in the adapters, lists the available ge driver parameters, and describes how to
configure these parameters.
The ge driver controls the Sun GigabitEthernet adapter devices. The Sun
GigabitEthernet device is identified as network with the model property
SUNW,sbus-gem or SUNW,pci-gem node. The ge driver is attached to the device
withthe compatible property pci108e,2bad for the Sun GigabitEthernet/P adapter
or SUNW,sbus-gem for the Sun GigabitEthernet/S adapter.You can manually
configure the parameters to customize each Sun GigabitEthernet adapter in your
system.
GigabitEthernet MAC
The GigabitEthernet MAC (GEM) provides1000BASE-SX networking interfaces. The
driver automatically sets the link speed to 1000 Mbps and conforms to the IEEE
802.3z Ethernet standard. The GEM PCI ASIC provide the PCI interface, Media
Access Control (MAC) functions, and Physical Code Sublayer (PCS) functions. The
GEM SBus ASIC provides the SBus interface, MAC functions, and PCS functions.
The External SERDES, which connects the 1000BASE-SX Compliant SC connector to
the ASIC, provides the physical layer functions.
The GEM MAC and PCS are capable of all the operating speeds and modes listed in
“Autonegotiation Mode” on page 13. The PCS performs autonegotiation with the
remote end of the link (link partner) to select a common mode of operation.
The PCS also supports a forced mode of operation. Youcan select the speed and
mode by creating a ge.conf file.