Networking - From the Ethernet MAC to the Link Partner

Explore the intricacies of Ethernet networking in this 46-minute conference talk by Maxime Chevallier and Antoine Ténart from Bootlin. Dive into the complex world of network links between Ethernet MAC controllers and network media, covering topics such as chained PHYs, SFP modules, and hot-pluggable components. Learn about various communication standards like RGMII, SGMII, QSGMII, and more. Gain insights into Linux's representation of the MAC-to-link partner connection, including the phylink infrastructure. Discover an overview of link components and standards used in modern networking. The talk covers Linux drivers, ETH tools, MGIO links, encoding, sterilized connections, auto-negotiation, SFP modules, and Ethernet link configuration. Conclude with a Q&A session to deepen your understanding of these networking concepts.