Interrupt Type Codes

4.4 Interrupt Type Codes

The following subsections define specific interrupt codes which may occur during ThunderLAN operation. It describes the conditions that result from the occurrence of interrupts, and corrective actions to overcome these conditions.

4.4.1No Interrupt (Invalid Code). Int_type = 000b

This condition occurs when the driver detects an interrupt, but ThunderLAN did not cause this interrupt. This indicates a hardware error that is caused by other hardware. The driver can be configured to ignore this interrupt and not acknowledge it. An error counter may be used for such occurrences.

4.4.2Tx EOF Interrupt. Int_type = 001b

Tx EOF and Tx EOC interrupt handling depends on the Tx interrupt threshold used. The interrupt threshold counter is part of Texas Instruments Adaptive Performance Optimization(APO) algorithm. More information on APO can be found in the ThunderLAN Adaptive Performance Utilization Technical Brief (TI literature number SPWT089). There are two main options described below.

In the first option, the interrupt threshold is set to a nonzero number. Thunder- LAN does not interrupt until it has encountered the number of Tx EOFs given to it by the Ack_Count register. In this way, the host is able to acknowledge mul- tiple Tx EOFs in a single interrupt call. The host must count the number of frames it has transmitted by counting the frames with the Frm_Cmp bit set in the CSTAT field and must use this number in the Ack_Count field while ac- knowledging.

A special case of this first option is when the interrupt threshold is set to a value of 1. This gives an interrupt for each Tx EOF encountered (one frame = one Tx EOF = one interrupt). In this case, ThunderLAN interrupts the host each time it transmits a frame. The host must then acknowledge this interrupt by writing an acknowledge count of 1 to HOST_CMD with the appropriate bits set.

Depending on the application, a continuous transmit channel may not be feasi- ble. In other words, there may not be enough frames to create a continuous transmit list, and the adapter issues a Tx EOF and a Tx EOC for every frame transmitted (one frame = one Tx EOF + one Tx EOC = two interrupts). A Tx GO command must be executed each time a frame is transmitted, as the Tx channel has been stopped by ThunderLAN (as evidenced by the Tx EOC).

This condition can be avoided by loading the interrupt threshold with a 0. Doing this disables all Tx EOFs. ThunderLAN only interrupts the host for Tx EOCs (one frame = one Tx EOC = one interrupt). This simplifies the driver, since it only has to acknowledge one interrupt per frame.

Interrupt Handling

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Texas Instruments TNETE100A, TNETE211, TNETE110A manual Interrupt Type Codes, No Interrupt Invalid Code. Inttype = 000b
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