System, method and apparatus for power saving using burst-mode transmission over point-to-point physical connections

1. A physical layer device, comprising:

a data detector that is configured to generate a first control signal upon receipt of a non-idle code group over an interface between the physical layer device and a media access control device and to generate a second control signal when all data received from the media access control device has been transmitted by the physical layer device;

a laser for transmission of data over a point-to-point optical network link to a remote transceiver, the laser being configured to perform a first transition from an off state to an on state based on the first control signal, and to perform a second transition from the on state back to the off state based on the second control signal, wherein the sequence of the first transition and the second transition enables the laser in the physical layer device to transmit a burst of traffic received from the media access control device; and

a receiver that is configured to wake up periodically from a sleep state and to perform a synchronization when it is determined that an input optical signal level is greater than a predefined power level;

wherein the laser is further configured to remain in the on state after initialization until receipt, by the receiver, of a predetermined code group from a second physical layer device of the remote transceiver; and

wherein the laser is configured to first transition to the off state responsive to receipt of the predetermined code group.

2. The physical layer device of claim 1 , wherein the data detector is part of a physical coding sublayer of the physical layer device.

3. The physical layer device of claim 1 , wherein the second control signal is generated when a buffer in the physical layer device only contains idle code groups.

4. The physical layer device of claim 1 , wherein the laser is further configured to periodically transition from the off state to the on state to transmit a synchronization sequence.

5. The physical layer device of claim 1 , wherein the physical layer device is part of a pluggable SFP, SFP+, XENPAK, X2, XFP or XPAK module.

6. A method, comprising:

detecting, by a physical layer device that is coupled to a transceiver of a remote link partner via a point-to-point optical link, a receipt of a plurality of non-idle code group over an interface between the physical layer device and a media access control device, the plurality of non-idle code groups aggregated over a first time period by the media access control device and provided to the physical layer device over a second, shorter time period;

generating a first control signal upon the detected receipt of the plurality of non-idle code groups; and responsive to having received a predetermined code group from the transceiver of the remote link partner:

transitioning a laser in the physical layer device from an off state to an on state in response to the generated first control signal;

transmitting, by the laser, data received over the interface to the transceiver of the remote link partner; andafter completion of the transmission of the data received over the interface, transitioning the laser from the on state back to the off state;

the laser having been configured to remain in the on sate after initialization until receipt of the predetermined code group from the transceiver of the remote link partner.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the transitioning of the laser from the on state back to the off state is based on a second control signal that is generated when a buffer in the physical layer device contains only idle code groups.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the transitioning of the laser from the on state back to the off state is based on a second control signal that is generated when a buffer in the physical layer device contains only idle code groups for a defined period of time.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the generating of the first control signal is performed by a data detector in a physical coding sublayer of the physical layer device.

10. A network device, comprising:

a media access control device;

a first physical layer device that is configured for communication with a remote second physical layer device, the first physical layer device including:

a data detector that is configured to generate a control signal upon receipt of a non-idle code group over an interface between the first physical layer device and the media access control device;

a laser for transmission of data over an optical network cable, the laser being configured to:

perform a first transition from an on state after initialization to an off state upon receipt by a receiver of the first physical layer device of a predetermined code group from the remote second physical layer device,

perform a second transition from an off state to an on state based on the control signal, and

perform a third transition form the on state back to the off state upon completion of the transmission of the data; and

the receiver, configured to wake up periodically from a sleep state and to perform a synchronization when it is determined, using a stored automatic gain coefficient, that an input optical signal level is greater than a predefined power level.

11. The network device of claim 10 , wherein the laser is further configured to periodically transition from the off state to the one state to transmit a synchronization sequence.

12. The network device of claim 10 , wherein the first physical layer device is part of a pluggable SFP, SFP+, XENPAK, X2, XFP or XPAK module.

13. The network device of claim 10 , wherein the receiver is further configured to awaken periodically to determine if a signal is detected from the second physical layer device, wherein the receiver returns to an off state if no signal is detected and transitions to an on state if a signal is detected.

14. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the on and off states of the laser are independent of the on and off states of the receiver.

15. The network device of claim 10 , wherein the first transition is not controlled by signals received from the media access control device.

16. The network device of claim 10 , wherein the data detector is further configured to generate a second control signal when it is determined that no data is available for transmission by the first physical layer device to the second physical layer device, the second transition being based on the second control signal.

17. The network device of claim 16 , wherein the second control signal is generated when it is determined that a buffer in the first physical layer device does not contain data for transmission.

18. The network device of claim 1 , wherein the receiver is further configured to perform synchronization when it is determined that the input optical signal is greater than the predefined power level based on a stored automatic gain control coefficient determined during receipt of a prior input optical signal.

19. The network of claim 10 , wherein the laser is further configured to remain in the on state after initialization until receipt, by the receiver, of a predetermined code group from a second physical layer device;

and wherein the laser is configured to first transition to the off state responsive to receipt of the predetermined code group.

20. The network device of claim 1 , wherein the laser is further configured to periodically transmit a predetermined code group in place of an idle code group.