Boot loader for active cable assemblies
According to one embodiment, an active cable assembly may include a cable end, a data receiver, a controller characteristic circuit, and a controller. The data receiver, operable to receive a DC-balanced data signal, can be electrically coupled to a conductive input data line of the cable end. The controller characteristic circuit can be electrically coupled to the conductive input data line. The controller can be communicatively coupled to the data receiver. The controller may include a configurable communication port electrically coupled to the controller characteristic circuit, and memory for storing a boot loader. The controller can execute the boot loader to set the configurable communication port as an output for controller data signals and as an input for the controller data signals.
1. An active cable assembly comprising:
a data receiver operable to receive a DC-balanced data signal;
a first isolation capacitor electrically coupled to the data receiver, and a second isolation capacitor electrically coupled to the data receiver;
a first input data line electrically coupled to the first isolation capacitor, wherein the first isolation capacitor is disposed in series between the first input data line and the data receiver;
a second input data line electrically coupled to the second isolation capacitor, wherein the second isolation capacitor is disposed in series between the second input data line and the data receiver;
a first isolation resistor electrically coupled to the first input data line and the first isolation capacitor;
a second isolation resistor electrically coupled to the second input data line and the second isolation capacitor;
a controller comprising a first configurable communication port and a second configurable communication port, wherein each of the first configurable communication port and the second configurable communication port can be set to an input and an output for controller data signals, and wherein the first configurable communication port is electrically coupled to the first isolation resistor, and the second configurable communication port is electrically coupled to the second isolation resistor.
2. The active cable assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first isolation capacitor and the first isolation resistor operate as a high pass filter for the data receiver.
3. The active cable assembly as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
a data transmitter operable to transmit a second DC-balanced data signal;
a transmit capacitor electrically coupled to the data transmitter; and
an output data line electrically coupled to the transmit capacitor, wherein the transmit capacitor is disposed in series between the output data line and the data transmitter.
4. The active cable assembly as claimed in claim 3 , wherein each of the first isolation capacitor and the second isolation capacitor has a capacitance that is greater than that of the transmit capacitor.
5. The active cable assembly as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
an active coding circuit communicatively coupled to the data receiver; and
an optical transmission data line communicatively coupled to the active coding circuit.
6. The active cable assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the controller further comprises memory storing a boot loader that, when executed by the controller, causes the controller to set each of the first configurable communication port and the second configurable communication port to be either the input or the output.
7. An active cable assembly comprising:
a data receiver operable to receive a DC-balanced data signal;
a first isolation capacitor electrically coupled to the data receiver, and a second isolation capacitor electrically coupled to the data receiver;
a first input data line electrically coupled to the first isolation capacitor, wherein the first isolation capacitor is disposed in series between the first input data line and the data receiver;
a second input data line electrically coupled to the second isolation capacitor, wherein the second isolation capacitor is disposed in series between the second input data line and the data receiver;
a first isolation resistor electrically coupled to the first input data line and the first isolation capacitor;
a second isolation resistor electrically coupled to the second input data line and the second isolation capacitor;
a controller comprising a first configurable communication port and a second configurable communication port, wherein each of the first configurable communication port and the second configurable communication port can be set to an input and an output for controller data signals, and wherein the first configurable communication port is electrically coupled to the first isolation resistor, and the second configurable communication port is electrically coupled to the second isolation resistor, and memory storing a boot loader that, when executed by the controller, causes the controller to set each of the first configurable communication port and the second configurable communication port to be either the input or the output.
8. The active cable assembly as claimed in claim 7 wherein the first isolation capacitor and the first isolation resistor operate as a high pass filter for the data receiver.
9. The active cable assembly as claimed in claim 7 , further comprising:
a data transmitter operable to transmit a second DC-balanced data signal;
a transmit capacitor electrically coupled to the data transmitter; and
an output data line electrically coupled to the transmit capacitor, wherein the transmit capacitor is disposed in series between the output data line and the data transmitter.
10. The active cable assembly as claimed in claim 9 , wherein each of the first isolation capacitor and the second isolation capacitor has a capacitance that is greater than that of the transmit capacitor.
11. The active cable assembly as claimed in claim 7 , further comprising:
an active coding circuit communicatively coupled to the data receiver; and
an optical transmission data line communicatively coupled to the active coding circuit.
12. An active cable assembly comprising:
a data receiver operable to receive a DC-balanced data signal;
a first isolation capacitor electrically coupled to the data receiver, and a second isolation capacitor electrically coupled to the data receiver;
a first input data line electrically coupled to the first isolation capacitor, wherein the first isolation capacitor is disposed in series between the first input data line and the data receiver;
a second input data line electrically coupled to the second isolation capacitor, wherein the second isolation capacitor is disposed in series between the second input data line and the data receiver;
a first isolation resistor electrically coupled to the first input data line and the first isolation capacitor;
a second isolation resistor electrically coupled to the second input data line and the second isolation capacitor, wherein the first isolation capacitor and the first isolation resistor operate as a high pass filter for the data receiver;
a controller comprising a first configurable communication port and a second configurable communication port, wherein each of the first configurable communication port and the second configurable communication port can be set to an input and an output for controller data signals, and wherein the first configurable communication port is electrically coupled to the first isolation resistor, and the second configurable communication port is electrically coupled to the second isolation resistor.
13. The active cable assembly as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising:
a data transmitter operable to transmit a second DC-balanced data signal;
a transmit capacitor electrically coupled to the data transmitter; and
an output data line electrically coupled to the transmit capacitor, wherein the transmit capacitor is disposed in series between the output data line and the data transmitter.
14. The active cable assembly as claimed in claim 13 , wherein each of the first isolation capacitor and the second isolation capacitor has a capacitance that is greater than that of the transmit capacitor.
15. The active cable assembly as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising:
an active coding circuit communicatively coupled to the data receiver; and
an optical transmission data line communicatively coupled to the active coding circuit.
16. The active cable assembly as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the controller further comprises memory storing a boot loader that, when executed by the controller, causes the controller to set each of the first configurable communication port and the second configurable communication port to be either the input or the output.