RTL8153-VC-CG 
 
 
 
 
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INTEGRATED 10/100/1000M ETHERNET 
CONTROLLER FOR USB APPLICATIONS 
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(CONFIDENTIAL: Development Partners Only) 
DATASHEET 
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Rev. 1.2 
29 September 2015 
Track ID: JATR-8275-15 
 
Realtek Semiconductor Corp. 
No. 2, Innovation Road II, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan 
Tel.: +886-3-578-0211. Fax: +886-3-577-6047 
www.realtek.com 
 
RTL8153-VC 
Datasheet 
COPYRIGHT 
©2015 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, 
transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any 
means without the written permission of Realtek Semiconductor Corp. 
DISCLAIMER 
Realtek provides this document ‘as is’, without warranty of any kind. Realtek may make improvements 
and/or changes in this document or in the product described in this document at any time. This document 
could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. 
TRADEMARKS 
Realtek is a trademark of Realtek Semiconductor Corporation. Other names mentioned in this document 
are trademarks/registered trademarks of their respective owners. 
LICENSE 
This  product  is  covered  by  one  or  more  of  the  following  patents:  US5,307,459,  US5,434,872, 
US5,732,094, US6,570,884, US6,115,776, and US6,327,625. 
USING THIS DOCUMENT 
This  document  is  intended  for  the  software  engineer’s  reference  and  provides  detailed  programming 
information. 
Though every effort has been made to ensure that this document is current and accurate, more information 
may have become available subsequent to the production of this guide. 
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REVISION HISTORY 
Revision 
Release Date  Summary 
2015/02/17 
2015/04/01 
2015/09/29 
First release. 
Revised section 8 Mechanical Dimensions, page 29. 
Revised note in Table 7 LED Pins, page 7. 
Revised section 5.5 Clock Pins, page 6. 
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Integrated 10/100/1000M Ethernet Controller for USB Applications 
 
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Table of Contents 
RTL8153-VC 
Datasheet 
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6. 
6.1. 
6.2. 
6.3. 
4.1. 
5. 
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1.  GENERAL DESCRIPTION..............................................................................................................................................1 
FEATURES.........................................................................................................................................................................3 
2. 
SYSTEM APPLICATIONS...............................................................................................................................................4 
3. 
4. 
PIN ASSIGNMENTS .........................................................................................................................................................4 
PACKAGE IDENTIFICATION...........................................................................................................................................4 
PIN DESCRIPTIONS.........................................................................................................................................................5 
POWER MANAGEMENT PIN ..........................................................................................................................................5 
5.1. 
SPI (SERIAL PERIPHERAL INTERFACE) FLASH PINS .....................................................................................................5 
5.2. 
EEPROM PINS ............................................................................................................................................................5 
5.3. 
TRANSCEIVER INTERFACE PINS....................................................................................................................................6 
5.4. 
CLOCK PINS .................................................................................................................................................................6 
5.5. 
REGULATOR AND REFERENCE PINS..............................................................................................................................6 
5.6. 
LED PINS.....................................................................................................................................................................7 
5.7. 
5.8. 
POWER AND GROUND PINS ..........................................................................................................................................7 
GPIO PIN.....................................................................................................................................................................7 
5.9. 
5.10.  USB INTERFACE PINS ..................................................................................................................................................8 
FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION.......................................................................................................................................9 
USB INTERFACE ..........................................................................................................................................................9 
6.1.1.  USB Configurations................................................................................................................................................9 
6.1.2.  Endpoint 0 ..............................................................................................................................................................9 
6.1.3.  Endpoint 1 Bulk-IN.................................................................................................................................................9 
6.1.4.  Endpoint 2 Bulk-OUT.............................................................................................................................................9 
6.1.5.  Endpoint 3 Interrupt-IN..........................................................................................................................................9 
CUSTOMIZABLE LED CONFIGURATION......................................................................................................................10 
PHY TRANSCEIVER ...................................................................................................................................................12 
6.3.1.  PHY Transmitter...................................................................................................................................................12 
6.3.2.  PHY Receiver .......................................................................................................................................................12 
6.3.3.  Link Down Power Saving Mode ...........................................................................................................................13 
6.3.4.  Next Page .............................................................................................................................................................13 
EEPROM INTERFACE................................................................................................................................................13 
6.4. 
SPI (SERIAL PERIPHERAL INTERFACE) FLASH............................................................................................................14 
6.5. 
POWER MANAGEMENT...............................................................................................................................................14 
6.6. 
LINK POWER MANAGEMENT (LPM) ..........................................................................................................................15 
6.7. 
PROTOCOL OFFLOAD .................................................................................................................................................15 
6.8. 
6.9.  WAKE PACKET DETECTION (WPD) ...........................................................................................................................16 
6.10. 
‘REALWOW!’ (WAKE-ON-WAN) TECHNOLOGY ......................................................................................................16 
6.11. 
ENERGY EFFICIENT ETHERNET (EEE)........................................................................................................................16 
LAN DISABLE MODE.................................................................................................................................................16 
6.12. 
6.13.  ALWAYS ON ALWAYS CONNECTED...........................................................................................................................17 
6.14. 
SWITCHING REGULATOR............................................................................................................................................17 
6.15. 
LDO REGULATOR......................................................................................................................................................17 
6.16.  DRIVER AUTO-INSTALL MODE ..................................................................................................................................18 
7.  CHARACTERISTICS......................................................................................................................................................19 
ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM RATINGS ................................................................................................................................19 
RECOMMENDED OPERATING CONDITIONS .................................................................................................................19 
CRYSTAL REQUIREMENTS..........................................................................................................................................20 
OSCILLATOR REQUIREMENTS ....................................................................................................................................20 
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7.2. 
7.3. 
7.4. 
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7.5. 
7.6. 
7.7. 
7.8. 
RTL8153-VC 
Datasheet 
ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS ........................................................................................................................21 
DC CHARACTERISTICS...............................................................................................................................................21 
REFLOW PROFILE RECOMMENDATIONS .....................................................................................................................22 
AC CHARACTERISTICS...............................................................................................................................................22 
SPI EEPROM Interface Timing............................................................................................................................22 
7.8.1. 
7.8.2.  TWSI EEPROM Interface Timing.........................................................................................................................23 
SPI Flash Commands ...........................................................................................................................................25 
7.8.3. 
7.8.4. 
SPI Flash Interface Timing...................................................................................................................................27 
7.8.5. 
SPI Flash Type Supported....................................................................................................................................28 
8.  MECHANICAL DIMENSIONS......................................................................................................................................29 
9.  ORDERING INFORMATION........................................................................................................................................30 
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List of Tables 
RTL8153-VC 
Datasheet 
TABLE 1.     POWER MANAGEMENT PIN ...........................................................................................................................................5 
TABLE 2.     SPI FLASH PINS ............................................................................................................................................................5 
TABLE 3.     EEPROM PINS .............................................................................................................................................................5 
TABLE 4.     TRANSCEIVER INTERFACE PINS ....................................................................................................................................6 
TABLE 5.     CLOCK PINS..................................................................................................................................................................6 
TABLE 6.     REGULATOR AND REFERENCE PINS ..............................................................................................................................6 
TABLE 7.     LED PINS......................................................................................................................................................................7 
TABLE 8.     POWER AND GROUND PINS ...........................................................................................................................................7 
TABLE 9.     GPIO PIN......................................................................................................................................................................7 
TABLE 10.   USB INTERFACE PINS ..................................................................................................................................................8 
TABLE 11.   LED SELECT (OCP REGISTER OFFSET DD90H~DD91H)...........................................................................................10 
TABLE 12.   CUSTOMIZED LEDS ...................................................................................................................................................10 
TABLE 13.   FIXED LED MODE .....................................................................................................................................................10 
TABLE 14.   LED FEATURE CONTROL-1........................................................................................................................................11 
TABLE 15.   LED FEATURE CONTROL-2........................................................................................................................................11 
TABLE 16.   LED OPTION 1 & OPTION 2 SETTINGS .......................................................................................................................11 
TABLE 17.   EEPROM INTERFACE................................................................................................................................................13 
TABLE 18.   SPI FLASH INTERFACE ...............................................................................................................................................14 
TABLE 19.   ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM RATINGS ................................................................................................................................19 
TABLE 20.   RECOMMENDED OPERATING CONDITIONS .................................................................................................................19 
TABLE 21.   CRYSTAL REQUIREMENTS..........................................................................................................................................20 
TABLE 22.   OSCILLATOR REQUIREMENTS ....................................................................................................................................20 
TABLE 23.   ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS ........................................................................................................................21 
TABLE 24.   DC CHARACTERISTICS...............................................................................................................................................21 
TABLE 25.   REFLOW PROFILE RECOMMENDATIONS .....................................................................................................................22 
TABLE 26.   SPI EEPROM ACCESS TIMING PARAMETERS............................................................................................................23 
TABLE 27.   TWSI EEPROM ACCESS TIMING PARAMETERS........................................................................................................24 
TABLE 28.   SPI FLASH COMMANDS..............................................................................................................................................25 
TABLE 29.   SPI FLASH ACCESS TIMING PARAMETERS .................................................................................................................27 
TABLE 30.   SPI FLASH TYPES SUPPORTED ...................................................................................................................................28 
TABLE 31.   ORDERING INFORMATION ..........................................................................................................................................30 
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FIGURE 1.     PIN ASSIGNMENTS.......................................................................................................................................................4 
FIGURE 2.     SPI EEPROM INTERFACE TIMING ............................................................................................................................22 
FIGURE 3.     TWSI EEPROM INTERFACE TIMING-1.....................................................................................................................23 
FIGURE 4.     TWSI EEPROM INTERFACE TIMING-2.....................................................................................................................23 
FIGURE 5.     TWSI EEPROM INTERFACE TIMING-3.....................................................................................................................24 
FIGURE 6.     TWSI EEPROM INTERFACE TIMING-4.....................................................................................................................24 
FIGURE 7.     WREN/WRDI COMMAND SEQUENCE.......................................................................................................................25 
FIGURE 8.     READ COMMAND SEQUENCE.....................................................................................................................................25 
FIGURE 9.     PAGE PROGRAM COMMAND SEQUENCE ....................................................................................................................26 
FIGURE 10.   SECTOR/BLOCK ERASE COMMAND SEQUENCE .........................................................................................................26 
FIGURE 11.   CHIP ERASE COMMAND SEQUENCE ..........................................................................................................................26 
FIGURE 12.   SPI FLASH INTERFACE TIMING .................................................................................................................................27 
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Integrated 10/100/1000M Ethernet Controller for USB Applications 
 
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RTL8153-VC 
Datasheet 
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1.  General Description 
The  Realtek  RTL8153-VC-CG  10/100/1000M  Ethernet  controller  combines  a  triple-speed  IEEE  802.3 
compliant  Media  Access  Controller  (MAC)  with  a  triple-speed  Ethernet  transceiver,  USB 3.0  bus 
controller,  and  embedded  memory.  With  state-of-the-art  DSP  technology  and  mixed-mode  signal 
technology,  the  RTL8153-VC  offers  high-speed  transmission  over  CAT 5  UTP  cable  or  CAT 3  UTP 
(10Mbps only) cable. Functions such as Crossover Detection and Auto-Correction, polarity correction, 
adaptive equalization, cross-talk cancellation, echo cancellation, timing recovery, and error correction are 
implemented  to  provide  robust  transmission  and  reception  capabilities.  The  RTL8153-VC  features 
embedded  One-Time-Programmable  (OTP)  memory 
the  external  EEPROM 
(93C46/93C56/93C66/TWSI). 
 
The  RTL8153-VC  features  USB 3.0  to  provide  higher  bandwidth  and  improved  protocols  for  data 
exchange  between  the  host  and  the  device.  USB 3.0  also  offers  more  advanced  power  management 
features for energy saving. 
 
Advanced  Configuration  Power  management  Interface  (ACPI)—power  management  for  modern 
operating  systems  that  are  capable  of  Operating  System-directed  Power  Management  (OSPM)—is 
supported  to  achieve  the  most  efficient  power  management  possible.  In  addition  to  the  ACPI  feature, 
remote  wake-up  (including  AMD  Magic  Packet  and  Microsoft  Wake-Up  Frame)  is  supported  in  both 
ACPI and APM (Advanced Power Management) environments. 
 
The  RTL8153-VC  supports  Microsoft  Wake  Packet  Detection  (WPD)  to  provide  Wake-Up  Frame 
information  to  the  OS,  e.g.,  PatternID,  OriginalPacketSize,  SavedPacketSize,  SavedPacketOffset,  etc. 
WPD helps prevent unwanted/unauthorized wake-up of a sleeping computer. 
 
The RTL8153-VC supports ‘RealWoW!’ technology to enable remote wake-up of a sleeping PC through 
the Internet. This feature allows PCs to reduce power consumption by remaining in low power sleeping 
state until needed. 
Note: The ‘RealWoW!’ service requires registration on first time use. 
 
The  RTL8153-VC  supports  Protocol  offload.  It  offloads  some  of  the  most  common  protocols  to  NIC 
hardware in order to prevent spurious wake-up and further reduce power consumption. The RTL8153-VC 
can offload ARP (IPv4) and NS (IPv6) protocols while in the D3 power saving state. 
 
The  RTL8153-VC  supports  the  ECMA  (European  Computer  Manufacturers  Association)  proxy  for 
sleeping  hosts  standard.  The  standard  specifies  maintenance  of  network  connectivity  and  presence  via 
proxies in order to extend the sleep duration of higher-powered hosts. It handles some network tasks on 
behalf of the host, allowing the host to remain in sleep mode for longer periods. Required and optional 
behavior of an operating proxy includes generating reply packets, ignoring packets, and waking the host. 
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Integrated 10/100/1000M Ethernet Controller for USB Applications 
 
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Track ID: JATR-8275-15      Rev. 1.2
 
RTL8153-VC 
Datasheet 
The RTL8153-VC supports IEEE 802.3az-2010, also known as Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE). IEEE 
802.3az-2010 operates with the IEEE 802.3 Media Access Control (MAC) Sublayer to support operation 
in Low Power Idle mode. When the Ethernet network is in low link utilization, EEE allows systems on 
both sides of the link to save power. 
 
The RTL8153-VC is fully compliant with Microsoft NDIS5, NDIS6 (IPv4, IPv6, TCP, UDP) Checksum 
features,  and  supports  IEEE 802  IP  Layer  2  priority  encoding  and IEEE 802.1Q  Virtual  bridged  Local 
Area Network (VLAN). The above features contribute to lowering CPU utilization, especially benefiting 
performance when in operation on a network server. 
 
The RTL8153-VC is suitable for multiple market segments and emerging applications, such as desktop, 
mobile, workstation, server, communications platforms, docking station, and embedded applications. 
 
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RTL8153-VC 
Datasheet 
Features 
Integrated 10/100/1000M transceiver 
2. 
Hardware 
 
  Auto-Negotiation with Next Page capability 
  Supports USB 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1 
  Supports CDC-ECM 
  Supports LPM (Link Power Management), 
U1/U2/U3 at SuperSpeed, and L1/L2 at 
HighSpeed 
  Supports pair swap/polarity/skew correction 
  Crossover Detection & Auto-Correction 
  Supports Wake-On-LAN and ‘RealWoW!’ 
(Wake-On-WAN) Technology (see note 1) 
  Supports ECMA-393 ProxZzzy Standard for 
sleeping hosts (see note 1) 
Note 1. Select between RealWoW! or ECMA, 
only one feature can be active at a time. 
  Supports power down/link down power 
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  Transmit/Receive on-chip buffer support 
  EEPROM Interface 
  Embedded OTP memory can replace 
external EEPROM 
  Built-in switching regulator and LDO 
regulator 
  Supports Customizable LEDs 
  Supports hardware CRC (Cyclic 
Redundancy Check) function 
  LAN disable with GPIO pin 
  Supports 25MHz or 48MHz clock source 
  SPI Flash Interface 
  Supports Legacy PXE (eHCI and xHCI) & 
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  48-pin QFN ‘Green’ package 
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Software Offload 
  Microsoft NDIS5, NDIS6 Checksum 
Offload (IPv4, IPv6, TCP, UDP) and 
Segmentation Task-offload (Large send v1 
and Large send v2) support 
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  Supports jumbo frame to 9K bytes 
IEEE 
  Supports Full Duplex flow control 
(IEEE 802.3x) 
  Fully compliant with IEEE 802.3, 
IEEE 802.3u, and IEEE 802.3ab 
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  Supports IEEE 802.1P Layer 2 Priority 
Encoding 
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  Supports IEEE 802.1Q VLAN tagging 
  Supports IEEE 802.3az-2010 (EEE) 
Microsoft AOAC (Always On Always 
Connected) 
  Supports 16-set 128-byte Wake-Up Frame 
pattern exact matching 
  Supports link change wake up 
  Supports Microsoft WPD (Wake Packet 
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Intel CPPM (Converged Platform Power 
Management) 
  Supports L1 with 3ms BESL (USB 2.0) 
  Dynamic LTM messaging (USB 3.0) 
  Supports U1/U2/U3 (USB 3.0) 
  Supports selective suspend 
Integrated 10/100/1000M Ethernet Controller for USB Applications 
 
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