A synchronous Gigabit Ethernet protocol stack for high-throughput UDP/IP applications

TL;DR

This paper presents a high-throughput, synchronized Gigabit Ethernet protocol stack implemented in FPGA for UDP/IP applications, achieving maximum data rates and sub-60 ps jitter for precise timing.

Contribution

The authors developed a versatile FPGA-based protocol stack supporting UDP, ICMP, ARP, and PTP, enabling high-speed data transfer and accurate clock synchronization over Gigabit Ethernet links.

Findings

Achieved maximum theoretical data throughput for UDP over 1000BASE-T and 1000BASE-KX.

Demonstrated sub-60 ps jitter in synchronized clock signals over Ethernet.

Validated the protocol stack's performance in a MicroTCA system.

Abstract

State of the art detector readout electronics require high-throughput data acquisition (DAQ) systems. In many applications, e. g. for medical imaging, the front-end electronics are set up as separate modules in a distributed DAQ. A standardized interface between the modules and a central data unit is essential. The requirements on such an interface are varied, but demand almost always a high throughput of data. Beyond this challenge, a Gigabit Ethernet interface is predestined for the broad requirements of Systems-on-a-Chip (SoC) up to large-scale DAQ systems. We have implemented an embedded protocol stack for a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) capable of high-throughput data transmission and clock synchronization. A versatile stack architecture for the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) over Internet Protocol (IP) such as Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) as well as Precision Time Protocol (PTP) is presented. With a point-to-point connection to a host in a MicroTCA system we achieved the theoretical maximum data throughput limited by UDP both for 1000BASE-T and 1000BASE-KX links. Furthermore, we show that the random jitter of a synchronous clock over a 1000BASE-T link for a PTP application is below 60 ps.