
276 ◾ Enterprise Architecture A to Z
9.4.1.3.2.3 Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS)
e PCS sublayer provides for packet delineation and scrambling for the LAN PHY. e transmission
code used by the PCS, referred to as 8B/10B, is identical to that specified in Clause 36 of the 802.3
standard as well as ANSI X3.230-1994 (FC-PH), Clause 11. e PCS maps XGMII characters into
ten-bit code groups, and vice versa, using the 8B/10B block-coding scheme. Implicit in the definition
of a code group is an establishment of code group boundaries by a PCS Synchronization process. e
8B/10B transmission code, as well as the rules by which the PCS ENCODE and DECO