Verdin iMX8M Mini is compactable with MiniPCI 2x Gigabit lan Intel I350

[Jai8877]

Hello Torodex team,

 I need some clarification FEC( Fast Ethernet Controller).

Currently we are using Verdin iMX8M Mini with carrier Board as I know one port is compactable for FEC.
If we connect MiniPCI- 2x Gigabit Lan Intel I350. Is it possible to 2 FEC ports. We want use 2 EtherCAT masters in FEC. If its possible give me solutions how to it?

Thank you

[ToradexAI]

Hi, I’m the Toradex AI Assistant. The Toradex Support team will follow up with you shortly!

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Based on the provided context, the Verdin iMX8M Mini supports a single Fast Ethernet Controller (FEC) port. To add additional Ethernet ports, such as using a MiniPCIe card like the Intel I350 for 2x Gigabit LAN, you would need to ensure that your carrier board supports the necessary interfaces and connections for the MiniPCIe card.

The context does not provide specific details on how to configure or enable multiple FEC ports using a MiniPCIe card on the Verdin iMX8M Mini. However, generally, you would need to:

1. Ensure that your carrier board has a MiniPCIe slot and the necessary connections to support the Intel I350 card.
2. Configure the device tree to recognize and initialize the additional Ethernet ports provided by the MiniPCIe card.
3. Install any necessary drivers or software support for the Intel I350 on your Linux distribution.

For specific implementation details, you may need to refer to the datasheets and technical documentation for both the Verdin iMX8M Mini and the Intel I350, as well as consult with Toradex technical support for guidance on configuring multiple FEC ports for EtherCAT masters.

Please, also check if these links can help you solve your problem:

IMX8MP Sharing GPIO With Coprocessor

Hello, On prior products where we did not use a SOM - we could carefully select IMX pins and GPIO banks such that the coprocessor (M4, FreeRTOS) and main processor (A9, Linux) did not conflict, and we could have exclusive access to interrupts and the GPIO peripheral on each. This is required even if we make use of the semaphore resource protection locks - because of the use of interrupts. We also have a decent bit of high speed GPIO. Am I mistaken in seeing that this is essentially impossible…

EtherCAT | Toradex Developer Center.

[alex.tx]

Roughly speaking, the FEC (Fast Ethernet Controller) on the Verdin iMX8M Mini is a MAC (Media Access Control) component. It handles the MAC layer, which is responsible for managing framing, addressing, and error detection during data transmission. To enable Ethernet communication, you also need an Ethernet PHY (Physical Layer Transceiver) and magnetics.

The Verdin iMX8M Mini module features an on-module Microchip KSZ9131 Gigabit Ethernet PHY, while the magnetics (usually integrated into the RJ45 connector) are located on the carrier board. The i.MX 8M Mini SoC has only a single Ethernet MAC, meaning it provides only one Ethernet port through its FEC. Other Verdin modules, like the Verdin iMX8M Plus, feature two Ethernet ports but only one on-board PHY. You can add a second PHY on a carrier board and connect it to the module using the media-independent interface (RGMII), as is done on the Verdin Development Board.

The MiniPCI-2x Gigabit LAN Intel I350 is a standalone network interface card (NIC) that integrates both MAC and PHY functionalities into a single chip. It operates independently of the FEC (Fast Ethernet Controller) on the Verdin iMX8M Mini. Yes, you can get a second Ethernet port using the Intel I350 Mini PCIe card, but you should verify if its driver is included and enabled in the Linux version you are using.

As for EtherCAT, Toradex does not provide its support out-of-the-box in Toradex embedded Linux offerings, but we have partners who provide EtherCAT master functionality for our modules.