How to Check an Ethernet PHY's MAC Interface and Package

1. Separate Media Speed from the MAC Interface

Locate the PHY in the released board documentation and identify the connection the processor or Ethernet controller expects. Ask the board owner to name that MAC-side interface, preserving the applicable revision. Keep the media-side description as another field. A short request containing only Ethernet speed leaves the component reviewer without the interface requirement that must be checked against the proposed device.

TI's DP83867IR/CR datasheet lists MII, GMII and RGMII MAC interfaces and explains package-dependent support. Its description distinguishes QFP support from the RGMII support associated with QFN. These are facts about the documented family, not a template for every Ethernet PHY. Retain the package context whenever this example is used, and consult another family's own evidence for another requested component.

Give the interface field a clear source. An engineering schematic note, processor reference and supplier summary may need reconciliation when their descriptions differ. Keep the readings and their owners visible until the design requirement is settled. Buying a part advertised at the same media speed does not resolve a missing MAC-interface requirement, and no such customer interface has been examined in this guide.

2. Match Package and Orderable-Device Records

Preserve the complete requested manufacturer ordering string and its documented package. Keep a family identifier separate from the complete purchase code. Package selection must remain tied to the interface question rather than being treated only as an assembly-format preference. Where the current request uses an internal material number, retain the reference that connects it to the released manufacturer's device.

The DP83867 document includes package information and a separately dated Package Option Addendum. Read the row corresponding to the exact proposed code before assigning packaging or ordering fields to it. Preserve the main document revision and addendum date independently. This is a document-matching method; an entry in a manufacturer table is not confirmation of material held or offered by a particular supplier.

Keep shortened codes, changed packages and other differences on an explicit exception list. The recipient should be able to see whether the offer identifies the released device or a candidate requiring review. Do not complete missing ordering characters from the family name. Resolve the exact row with the component owner before presenting a package-dependent interface as a confirmed attribute of the proposed purchase line.

3. Retain Strap Reset and Clock Context

DP83867 section on strap configuration explains sampling at power-up or hard reset, with software-reset handling linked to the previously sampled values. Preserve that distinction in the configuration record. A bare interface label omits this state context. Request the existing board configuration evidence instead of inferring strap settings from an informal product description or proposing resistor values for an unidentified board.

Keep reset, clock and interface timing references distinguishable. The datasheet treats these requirements in separate sections, including MAC-interface timing and clock-source context. Ask the responsible engineer which requirements the board must satisfy and where the accepted configuration is recorded. This article interprets no waveform, assigns no physical pin, and chooses no internal-delay setting or calculated timing margin.

Record whether a configuration statement comes from released hardware, a documented software setting or a proposal. Preserve the associated revision and any unresolved dependency. That distinction matters when a sourcing alternative would require the board owner to reconsider its setup. A manufacturer's available configuration function describes the device; it does not document that the customer's hardware or driver uses that function correctly.

4. Leave Board and Driver Qualification Explicit

Prepare a PHY-specific requirement record containing the actual MAC interface, complete order code, package and accepted configuration references. Keep the processor and board revision with the engineering review rather than appending a general compatible label. This enables the responsible reviewer to identify which device requirements are documented and which customer references still need to be supplied before a candidate decision.

Software support belongs to its own evidence. Ask the system owner for the applicable driver and configuration documentation where that question affects the requirement. A package table or strap section cannot resolve that assessment alone. Record a candidate needing board or software work as a proposal, preserving the original approved purchase item while the owner considers the differences.

For an ICULTRA PHY sourcing review, send the permitted exact-device and interface requirement with the package and configuration exceptions that remain open. Include references covering the released selection, rather than treating a manufacturer feature list as a customer qualification record. Any change to the confirmed requirement follows the design owner's decision. This guide supplies no validated replacement, completed network test or present supply commitment.

Sources and further reading

• Texas Instruments DP83867IR/CR datasheet

TI DP83867IR/CR documentation supports the package-dependent interface and configuration examples. The board review fields are preparation suggestions; no strap design, skew calculation, host qualification or seller-stock confirmation is provided.