Microsemi:VSC8531BB1G

Microsemi VSC8531BB1G - BeagleBone Black Gigabit - Development Board
The VSC8531BB1G is perfect combination of development board & evaluation tool for the 6x6mm, 48-pin, QFN package SKUs from the brand new Microsemi Family of Gigabit Ethernet & FE PHYs (VSC8531XMW, VSC8531XMW-03, and VSC8530XMW-03).



Nearly identical to the BeagleBone Black (Rev C) in design and functionality, it has undergone some performance enhancements thanks to Gerald and his team at Embedded Product Design LLC.

These design changes include:


 * Upgraded memory to 1GB of DDR3
 * Replaced FE PHY with the Microsemi VSC8531XMW RGMII/RMII Single Port Gigabit Copper Ethernet PHY (and supporting LDOs for the required core and analog rails)
 * Replaced off-the-shelf integrated magnetics RJ-45 jack with the specially designed for Microsemi SimpliPHYTM and SynchroPHYTM branded Copper & Dual Media PHYs, Open-Source Hardware compliant HALO(R) Electronics GenesusTM TG111-MSC13LF 8-core Discrete transformer, and a quality RJ-45 jack with dual LEDs.

In addition to being FCC Class B, CE, RoHS & REACH certified just like the BeagleBone Black is, this 6-layer development board & evaluation tool, is capable of passing UNH IOL GbE, Fast Ethernet, as well as 10Base-T/Te certification. For anyone out that has attempted to take their end-product through this compliance conformance testing, they will be the first to tell you that it is not straight forward. The VSC8531BB1G can help to reduce the customer's TTM as well as them development costs typically associated with multiple board spins. It also enables the user to go through the UNH IOL certification test, provided that they have the necessary Tektronix TDSET3 Compliance Test Package. If UNH IOL is NOT a requirement for your design, please note that there are a host of alternative solutions available on the market that still comply with the Microsemi Magnetics Guide which is available for download to all registered users that have access to the VSC8531 Product Page.

Latest Status
This development board will be made available for world wide sale through a variety of Microsemi Authorized Distributors in the mid to late-November timeframe. Just like all BeagleBoard Compatible products, the Open-Source Hardware design files will be made available along with the Open-Source Software on this site, once these deliverables have been reviewed and the design has passed all the required certifications (FCC, CE, RoHS, REACH & UNH IOL).

As of today, the design has already meets RoHS, REACH & UNH IOL 10BASE-T / 10BASE-Te / 100BASE-TX / 1000BASE-T compliance. The Rev A hardware prototype boards are currently undergoing FCC Class B pre-screen at EPD. We should know where we stand by next week. As soon as the VSC8531BB1G (Rev A HW) passes FCC Class B and CE certification, the associated design files (schematics, PCB layout files, BOM) and certification documents will be made available to the Open-Source Hardware community from the Microsemi:VSC8531BB1G Specifications and Resources page.

Note: The VSC8531BB1G, much like other BeagleBone Black boards when used with external CAPES, pulls more than 500mA of power, due to the increased SDRAM size (1GB vs. 512MB), the GbE PHY and the additional LDOs, so please ensure that you are using your VSC8531BB1G with a BeagleBone approved +5V DC power supply with at least 2A or more to be safe.

- Go here to find official specifications of the VSC8531BB1G and resources

- Go here to find out more about how to get started with your VSC8531BB1G

- Go here to find community created "how to" pages and resources for all things BeagleBone related

- Go here to find a registry of compatible accessory board "Capes" for your VSC8531BB1G