The Am79C976 PCnet-PRO device is a highly integrated 10/100 Mbps PCI Ethernet controller designed for high-performance internetworking applications. The device is capable of processing oversize Ethernet frames-up to 64Kbytes long-and supports up to 4Mbytes of fast, external 100 MHz synchronous SRAM, making it the ideal solution for multi-protocol internetworking applications such as backplane communications and as a high traffic LAN interface in routers, switches, and telecom systems.

The PCnet-PRO controller includes an IEEE 802.3-compliant Fast Ethernet Media Access Controller (MAC) with full Auto-Negotiation of 10 or 100 Mbps and half- or full-duplex operation, a Media Independent Interface (MII) for connection to any standard IEEE 802.3 compliant 10/100 Mbps physical layer (PHY) device, as well as an External Address Detection Interface (EADI) for use with Content Addressable Memories (CAMs). It also contains a high performance 32-bit PCI bus master interface and Direct Memory Access (DMA) architecture, as well as large independent programmable transmit and receive memory buffers, to provide high speed data throughput and low CPU and system bus utilization.

In addition, the PCnet-PRO controller is offered with AMD's Managed Performance Portfolio of software solutions that improve network and system performance and manageability. This extensive suite of industry-proven PCnet device drivers, management software, diagnostic utilities and support tools offers a complete system solution.

Internetworking Applications
The PCnet-PRO controller offers an advanced feature set uniquely suited for performance demanding internetworking applications. Its support for oversize Ethernet frames allows for multi-protocol frame encapsulation-useful in backplane communications and as a LAN interface for routers. Its support for large external memory permits extra packet storage and offloads the system memory making the device especially attractive for proxy servers and LAN-to-WAN routers. In addition, the PCnet-PRO device supports the latest IEEE standards including 802.1Q Virtual LANs, and 802.3 Flow Control.

Optimized Performance
The PCnet-PRO controller implements a 32-bit bus mastering PCI interface and supports higher-level PCI commands for fast, intelligent data transfer. It integrates a powerful DMA buffer management unit and features an architecture designed for wirespeed performance for packets of all sizes. It contains CPU offload features such as direct register access and programmable interrupts to provide high data throughput with minimal processor overhead. In addition, the PCnet-PRO device's descriptor handling is optimized for small packets offering quick descriptor return and cache line boundary data transfers.

Compatibility and Reliability
The PCnet-PRO controller is offered with AMD's Managed Performance Portfolio of industry proven PCnet software supporting all major network operating systems and protocols including Windows®, NetWare® and UNIX, plus broad third party embedded RTOS support including Linux and VxWorks. The PCnet-PRO device features IEEE standards interoperability including a MII interface for connection to standard PHYs ensuring reliability in demanding internetworking applications.