[ibis-macro] Re: Comments on BIRD 156.1

  • From: "Walter Katz" <wkatz@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <fangyi_rao@xxxxxxxxxxx>, <Arpad_Muranyi@xxxxxxxxxx>, <ibis-macro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 22:29:23 -0400 (EDT)

All,



The Retimer and Redriver flows are very similar. I had an AR to attempt to
integrate Retimers with the Redriver BIRD (and also integrate BIRD 131 if
possible).



I modified v2 1  (enclosed) to include both retimer flows and BIRD 131.



The fundamental difference between Retimers and Redrivers is that a
Redriver Rx does not have a CDR or sampling latch. The waveform generated
by the Redriver Rx is passed directly to the Redriver Tx. The waveform
output of a Retimer must first be sampled ½ UI after each clock tick, and
the simulation platform shall generate a digital stimulus with values of
-1/2 and +1/2.



Walter



From: ibis-macro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ibis-macro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
fangyi_rao@xxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, May 20, 2013 5:59 PM
To: Arpad_Muranyi@xxxxxxxxxx; ibis-macro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ibis-macro] Re: Comments on BIRD 156.1



Thank Arpad, Walter, Ambrish, Bob, Michael and others in the ATM
discussion for all your input. I incorporated them into the attached
revision of BIRD 156. Main modifications include



-          Rephrase description of redriver Tx analog model

-          Additional figure to illustrate simulation flow and replace
Tx/Rx triangle with pentagon (I hope you like the new shape for Tx/Rx J)

-          Rephrase time domain flow description

-          Add statistical flow



Thanks,

Fangyi



From: ibis-macro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ibis-macro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Muranyi, Arpad
Sent: Wednesday, May 08, 2013 11:35 AM
To: IBIS-ATM
Subject: [ibis-macro] Comments on BIRD 156.1



Fangyi,



I took some time after the ATM meeting yesterday to re-read

BIRD 156.1 with a “fresh mind”.  I would like to make the

following comments:



#1) From an editorial point of view, you need to organize the

BIRD a little differently so we would know what is going to

go into the specification and where.  Obviously, the “ANALYSIS

PATH/DATA THAT LED TO SPECIFICATION” section will not go

into the specification, but it is not clear whether you intended

everything that follows that paragraph to be in the specification

or not, and where in the spec should things be placed.  Should

all this be a new chapter of its own, or added to an existing

chapter or keyword, and if the latter, which one.  Please make

specific recommendations for that.  This way the editorial

committee is not going to know what to do with the content of

the BIRD.



#2) Please try to follow the formatting of the existing specification

and use Courier New 10 font for the example.



#3) The following sentence seems to be somewhat problematic:



“Therefore, the output analog model is expected to describe an analog
circuit as oppose to the conventional digital-to-analog converter.”



First a typographical correction: a “d” is missing from “as opposed to”

towards the end.



Second, the wording “conventional digital-to-analog converter” is
misleading.

I understand that you are trying to describe the nature of the [Model]

keyword which essentially “converts” a digital event stimulus to an

analog waveform in the simulation environment, but calling these

digital-to-analog converters doesn’t seem to be appropriate, because

their functionality in the purpose of a simulation is not what a D/A

or A/D does, it is what an analog buffer does.  I understand what your

reasons are for using these words, since this topic was discussed in

the recent months, but the reader of the spec will not know any of that

a few years from now, and I think this will be confusing to them.



However, the bigger problem with the above sentence is that you don’t

explain how this can be achieved.  Since the stimulus to [Model] is

a digital event (as you stated it) we can’t use that keyword for this

purpose unless we make provisions for that somehow in this or another

BIRD.  The same reasoning applies to [External Model] also.  The only

keyword that could be used currently for buffer modeling with an analog

input in this way is the [External Circuit].  It would be nice if this

was explained in the BIRD and consequently in the spec and illustrated

in the example.  The current example you have cleverly side steps this

by using “...”.  You might also want to establish some rules for this,

for example, that a redriver analog output model may only be modeled with

the [External Circuit] keyword.  Or did you have something else in mind?



#4)  I have a problem with the sentence:

“It is the input impulse to the redriver input algorithmic model’s
AMI_Init function.”, because

the hAC1 impulse response is first passed to what you call SerDes Tx

algorithmic model, and it is only passed to the redriver input algorithmic

model after that.  This sentence seems to suggest that it is passed

directly to the redriver input algorithmic model, which doesn’t seem

to agree with step 2 later in the BIRD.



#5)  I would insert the words (or something similar) in red bold in the

following sentence in step 7 to make it a little more clear to the reader:



“The simulation platform performs simulation on the upstream channel,
which consists of the Tx algorithmic model, the upstream physical channel,
and the redriver’s input algorithmic model, making use of the AMI_GetWave
functions of the algorithmic models if present according to the AMI flow
defined in the specification for channels without redriver.”



#6)  Similarly, I would insert the following words in step 8:



“which consists of the redriver’s output algorithmic model, the downstream
physical channel, and the Rx algorithmic model, making use of the
AMI_GetWave functions of the algorithmic models if present according to
the AMI flow defined in the specification for channels without redriver.”





Thanks,



Arpad

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