[BP] My comment 139 in full
This comment has got truncated somehow. For reference, here is the full comment, with some line-feeds added to make it more readable.
Piers
CommentID: 139
CommenterName: Piers Dawe
CommenterEmail:
CommenterPhone:
CommenterCellPhone:
CommenterCompany: Avago Technologies
Clause: 73
Subclause: 73.8
Page: 149
Line: 12
CommentType: TR
Comment:
This comment picks up D2.0 comment 539 which was never completed. The draft says
'The management interface is used to communicate Auto-Negotiation information to the management entity. The clause 45 Management Data Input/Output (MDIO) interface shall be used for logical interface to access the device registers for Auto-Negotiation and other management purposes. The clause 45 MDIO electrical interface is optional....'
There's a contradiction here: 'shall be used' and 'optional'. The latter is right per 45.1:
'The MDIO electrical interface is optional. Where no physical embodiment of the MDIO exists, provision of an equivalent mechanism to access the registers is recommended.'
Also, station management is optional per 30.1,
'In CSMA/CD no peer management facilities are necessary for initiating or terminating normal protocol operations or for handling abnormal protocol conditions. Since these activities are subsumed by the normal operation of the protocol, they are not considered to be a function of Layer Management and are, therefore, not discussed in this clause. Implementation of part or all of Layer Management is not a requirement for conformance to any other clause of this standard.'
So the 'shall' has to go. Is Auto-Negotiation a 'management purpose'? Isn't it automatic (PHY doesn't need management's help to use it)? Editorials: 'state variable' not 'state diagram variable', capital Clause 45, paragraph ends with two full stops.
CommentEnd:
SuggestedRemedy:
Rewrite paragraph:
'A management interface may be used to communicate Auto-Negotiation information to a management entity. The optional Clause 45 Management Data Input/Output (MDIO) interface is recommended for access to the device registers for Auto-Negotiation and for management purposes. Where no physical embodiment of the MDIO exists, provision of an equivalent mechanism to access the registers is recommended. Table 73-6 provides the mapping of state variables to management registers.
RemedyEnd: