Ehternet magnetics required?

Hello,

I am trying to play with board to board communication over ethernet. There are no jacks, no cables… I want to wire them up directly on a PCB.

In this case, is there any reason for the magnetics? or can I disregard that in my case?

are the boards so far apart that you cannot merely use a UART or SPI?

The transformers are only required if you want a balanced transmission line. If you don’t need the distance, its not required.