Data Sheet

Ethernet Controller I210 —Design Considerations
820
12.5.6.3 Board Stack-Up Recommendations
Printed circuit boards for these designs typically have four, six, eight, or more layers. Although, the
I210 does not dictate the stack up, here is an example of a typical six-layer board stack up:
• Layer 1 is a signal layer. It can contain the differential analog pairs from the Ethernet device to the
magnetics module.
• Layer 2 is a signal ground layer. Chassis ground may also be fabricated in Layer 2 under the
connector side of the magnetics module.
• Layer 3 is used for power planes.
• Layer 4 is a signal layer.
• Layer 5 is an additional ground layer.
• Layer 6 is a signal layer. For 1000 BASE-T (copper) GbE designs, it is common to route two of the
differential pairs (per port) on this layer.
This board stack up configuration can be adjusted to conform to specific OEM design rules.