
Note: All descriptions apply to both the MB86965A and MB86965B
FEATURES
Provides interface to the I/O bus of PC/XT/AT or
compatible computers
Optional, generic host interface to connect to industry-
standard microprocessor buses
Interface to serial EEPROM for Node ID and configu-
ration option storage allows construction of jumper-
less, electronically configurable adapter cards
Automatic polarity detection and correction on
twisted-pair 10BASE-T cable
Allows automatic selection of nonconflicting I/O ad-
dress for self-installing under software control
High-performance, packet-buffer architecture pipe-
lines data for highest throughput
On-chip buffer management controls buffer pointers
to reduce software overhead and improve perfor-
mance
Hash filter for multicast packet reception
Manchester encoder/decoder tolerates input jitter up
to
±18 ns
Fully compliant with ISO/ANSI/IEEE 8802-3 speci-
fications
Two network ports, AUI and 10BASE-T, with auto-
matic port selection
Integrated pulse shape, and transmit and receive filters
Selectable 150 and 100 termination for shielded or
unshielded twisted-pair cable, respectively
Powerdown mode to reduce power dissipation in bat-
tery-powered equipment
Low-power CMOS technology
Single 5-volt power supply
160-pin plastic quad flat package (PQFP)
ADDITIONAL FEATURES IN MB86965B ONLY
Full–duplex capability
External loopback mode allows testing of all
10BASE–T interface circuits
Write support for an external Flash boot PROM
Software Reset now enables the system to fully reset
and re–initialize the controller without the need to acti-
vate the system reset line
24mA drive capability for IOCHRDY and IOS16 pins
to allow direct connection to the ISA bus
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The MB86965 EtherCoupler
Controller is a high-per-
formance, highly integrated monolithic device that
incorporates a network controller with buffer manage-
ment, 10BASE-T transceiver with on-chip transmit and
receive filters, Manchester encoder/decoder, and bus
interface for a PC/XT/AT/ISA bus. EtherCoupler allows
implementation of adapter solutions with as few as four
chips. With its optional native bus mode for use directly
on a microprocessor bus, it is ideal for use on daughter
and motherboards, as well as expansion-bus adapter
boards. An EEPROM can be interfaced to the chip for
storage of Ethernet ID and configuration settings.
EtherCoupler is designed to be configured electronically,
thus eliminating the jumpers typically used to configure
the system network adapters.
The buffer management architecture of the MB86965
allows packet data to access a buffer memory area
simultaneously from the host and from the network
media. The network controller updates all receive and
transmit pointers automatically to reduce the software
overhead needed to control these operations, resulting in
maximum performance. EtherCoupler’s transmit buffer
is programmable as a single 2-kbyte bank or as two banks
of 2, 4, or 8 kbytes each. This buffer chains multiple data
packets and transmits them to the network from a single
transmit command, thereby offering greater design
flexibility and throughput. A ring buffer that can be sized
from 4 to 62 kbytes, depending on the amount of
available memory used for the transmit buffer, captures
the receive packets.
The MB86965 performs pulse shaping and filtering
internally, which eliminates the need for external filtering
components and reduces overall system cost. EtherCoup-
ler is compatible with shielded and unshielded
Revised November 1997
DATA SHEET
MB86965A/MB86965B
ETHERCOUPLER SINGLE-CHIP
ETHERNET CONTROLLER