Most industrial and building automation applications expose the MCU to ESD events. It is recommended to provide ESD protection by means of a transient voltage suppression diode on the differential lines between the transformer & RJ-45 connector. TM4C129x devices have Ethernet Activity LEDs which can be programmed to indicate the link status. They are multiplexed with GPIOs and can be programmed to operate in common anode or common cathode configuration.