AM3352: External Ethernet switch selection

As stated on the post you refer, CPSW-to-external switch is an use case that is not supported by TI. Customers have successfully implemented this, using external switches which have the capability to configure the MAC port (facing the CPSW) in PHY mode.

Hi Sagar,
I can answer this one.

There shouldn't be an issue in interfacing to such a device as long as the MAC-facing PHY is RMII-compliant and the interface timings are compatible. The latter can be determined via PCB timing analysis.

Hi Sagar,
Deciding suitability of third-party hardware for any purpose must be the sole responsibility of the implementer. I am not a PHY expert and cannot comment in any official capacity as to the suitability of the LAN9354 for use with any TI device or product.

With all of this in mind, and from a HW perspective only, after a cursory review of their datasheet I don't find any reason why this device shouldn't work. The setup/hold/delay timing values appear to be sufficient to implement a reasonable RMII layout. A timing analysis of your particular board will be required on your end, but keeping all the RMII interface signals the same length and ensuring that the clock routing lengths (clock-to-PHY and clock-to-MAC) are matched should yield good results. Again, this should be verified via timing analysis prior to PCB manufacturing.

If you do decide to evaluate this device, I'd recommend doing so in RMII Clock-In mode rather than Clock-Out mode due to the fact that they do not provide (or I can't find) Clock-Out jitter data in their data sheet. RMII is very sensitive to long-term (n-cycle) clock jitter so I'll always lean towards a known low-jitter solution.

Happy to help! Good luck with your project.