> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://dragonwingdocs.qualcomm.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Ethernet architecture

The following figure shows the architecture and its components involved in communicating data over Ethernet on the reference kits.

<Frame caption="Ethernet architecture on reference kits">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/qualcomm-prod/h7j64QujhJHkLxyj/Technologies/Ethernet/media/qli-ethernet/ethernet-arch.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=h7j64QujhJHkLxyj&q=85&s=d010cbf2a7c963328368e3e4a3e61528" alt="Ethernet architecture on reference kits" width="587" height="895" data-path="Technologies/Ethernet/media/qli-ethernet/ethernet-arch.svg" />
</Frame>

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="QCS6490">
    The following table describes the components of Ethernet architecture on QCS6490.

    | **Component**                                 | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
    | :-------------------------------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | Application processor subsystem (APSS)        | Runs on a Linux-based operating system.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
    | Ethernet driver                               | <ul><li>A software driver in the Linux kernel.</li><li>Provides data connectivity over a wired Ethernet interface.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
    | PHY driver                                    | <ul><li>A low-level driver dedicated to manage the Ethernet physical layer.</li><li>Implements a software state machine required to handle the life cycle of PHY, from initialization to link establishment.</li><li>Interacts with an underlying management data input/output (MDIO) to access the PHY register and perform operations such as detecting alive and/or linked PHYs.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
    | Ethernet hardware (RB3 Gen 2 Development Kit) | <ul><li>Both QEP and AQR PHYs are validated on [RB3 Gen 2 Development Kit](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-80023-251/topic/rb3_hardware_overview.html#mainboard-and-interposer-connectors).</li><li>QEP PHY for 2.5 GbE is available by default on SGMII interface. It's enabled and verified on a 1 x QEP8121 IX connector.</li><li>USB2ETH interface with 1 GbE is available by default and verified on RJ45 connector.</li><li>AQR PHY for 10 GbE is optional and may not be available on the development kit. If available, it's verified on a 1 x AQR113C IX connector.</li></ul> <Note>The sample outputs shown in tools for ethernet operations are based on the verification of QEP8121 PHY, USB2ETH, and AQR113C PHY.</Note> <ul><li>To bring up hardware configurations other than the configuration provided by Qualcomm, see [Bring up alternate hardware enablement](https://dragonwingdocs.qualcomm.com/Technologies/Ethernet/bring-up-ethernet#bring-up-alternate-hardware-enablement).</li><li>For information on how to configure RJ45 based USB2ETH, see [Configure Ethernet with RJ45](https://dragonwingdocs.qualcomm.com/Key-Documents/Flash-Guide/how-to-configure-ethernet-rj45-port)</li></ul> |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="IQ-9075">
    The following table describes the components of Ethernet architecture on IQ-9075.

    | **Component**                          | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
    | :------------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | Application processor subsystem (APSS) | Runs on a Linux-based operating system.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
    | Ethernet driver                        | <ul><li>A software driver in the Linux kernel.</li><li>Provides data connectivity over a wired Ethernet interface.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
    | PHY driver                             | <ul><li>A low-level driver dedicated to manage the Ethernet physical layer.</li><li>Implements a software state machine required to handle the life cycle of PHY, from initialization to link establishment.</li><li>Interacts with an underlying management data input/output (MDIO) to access the PHY register and perform operations such as detecting alive and/or linked PHYs.</li></ul> |
    | Ethernet hardware                      | 1 x QEP8121 PHY for 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps is validated on [IQ-9075 EVK](https://dragonwingdocs.qualcomm.com/Hardware-Docs/IQ9075-user-guide/hardware-overview#evk-ports-and-interfaces) and enabled by RJ45 connector.                                                                                                                                                                        |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="IQ-9075 with Mezzanine">
    The following table describes the components of Ethernet architecture on IQ-9075 EVK with Mezzanine card.

    | **Component**                          | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
    | :------------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | Application processor subsystem (APSS) | Runs on a Linux-based operating system.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
    | Ethernet driver                        | <ul><li>A software driver in the Linux kernel.</li><li>Provides data connectivity over a wired Ethernet interface.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
    | PHY driver                             | <ul><li>A low-level driver dedicated to manage the Ethernet physical layer.</li><li>Implements a software state machine required to handle the life cycle of PHY, from initialization to link establishment.</li><li>Interacts with an underlying management data input/output (MDIO) to access the PHY register and perform operations such as detecting alive and/or linked PHYs.</li></ul> |
    | Ethernet hardware                      | The following interfaces are validated on IQ-9075 EVK with Mezzanine card and enabled by RJ45 connectors. <ul><li>1 x QEP8121 PHY for 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps</li><li>1 x QPS615 + AQR113C PHY for 100/1000/2500/5000/10000 Mbps</li><li>1 x QPS615 + QEP8121 PHY for 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps</li></ul>                                                                                           |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="IQ-8275">
    The following table describes the components of Ethernet architecture on IQ-8275.

    | **Component**                          | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
    | :------------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | Application processor subsystem (APSS) | Runs on a Linux-based operating system.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
    | Ethernet driver                        | <ul><li>A software driver in the Linux kernel.</li><li>Provides data connectivity over a wired Ethernet interface.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
    | PHY driver                             | <ul><li>A low-level driver dedicated to manage the Ethernet physical layer.</li><li>Implements a software state machine required to handle the life cycle of PHY, from initialization to link establishment.</li><li>Interacts with an underlying management data input/output (MDIO) to access the PHY register and perform operations such as detecting alive and/or linked PHYs.</li></ul> |
    | Ethernet hardware                      | 1 x QEP8121 PHY for 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps is validated on [IQ-8275 EVK](https://dragonwingdocs.qualcomm.com/Hardware-Docs/IQ8275-user-guide/hardware-overview#evk-ports-and-interfaces) and enabled by RJ45 connector.                                                                                                                                                                        |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="IQ-8275 with Mezzanine">
    The following table describes the components of Ethernet architecture on IQ-8275 EVK with Mezzanine card.

    | **Component**                          | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
    | :------------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | Application processor subsystem (APSS) | Runs on a Linux-based operating system.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
    | Ethernet driver                        | <ul><li>A software driver in the Linux kernel.</li><li>Provides data connectivity over a wired Ethernet interface.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
    | PHY driver                             | <ul><li>A low-level driver dedicated to manage the Ethernet physical layer.</li><li>Implements a software state machine required to handle the life cycle of PHY, from initialization to link establishment.</li><li>Interacts with an underlying management data input/output (MDIO) to access the PHY register and perform operations such as detecting alive and/or linked PHYs.</li></ul> |
    | Ethernet hardware                      | The following interfaces are validated on IQ-8275 EVK with Mezzanine card and enabled by RJ45 connectors. <ul><li>1 x QPS615 + AQR113C PHY for 100/1000/2500/5000/10000 Mbps</li><li>1 x QPS615 + QEP8121 PHY for 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps</li></ul>                                                                                                                                             |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="IQ-615">
    The following table describes the components of Ethernet architecture on IQ-615.

    | **Component**                          | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
    | :------------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | Application processor subsystem (APSS) | Runs on a Linux-based operating system.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
    | Ethernet driver                        | <ul><li>A software driver in the Linux kernel.</li><li>Provides data connectivity over a wired Ethernet interface.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
    | PHY driver                             | <ul><li>A low-level driver dedicated to manage the Ethernet physical layer.</li><li>Implements a software state machine required to handle the life cycle of PHY, from initialization to link establishment.</li><li>Interacts with an underlying management data input/output (MDIO) to access the PHY register and perform operations such as detecting alive and/or linked PHYs.</li></ul> |
    | Ethernet hardware                      | 1 x KSZ9031RNX PHY for 1000 Mbps is validated on IQ-615 EVK and enabled by RJ45 connector.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## **Next steps**

> * [Bring up Ethernet](https://dragonwingdocs.qualcomm.com/Technologies/Ethernet/bring-up-ethernet)
> * [Perform Ethernet operations](https://dragonwingdocs.qualcomm.com/Technologies/Ethernet/perform-ethernet-operations)
> * [Configure Ethernet features](https://dragonwingdocs.qualcomm.com/Technologies/Ethernet/configure-ethernet-features)
> * [Troubleshoot Ethernet issues](https://dragonwingdocs.qualcomm.com/Technologies/Ethernet/troubleshoot-ethernet-issues)