Patent ID: 7835289

Claim:
A method for operating a multi data type communication link transceiver, comprising: testing the type of a link partner transceiver coupled to the multi data type communication link transceiver, wherein the multi data type communication link configured to operate according to at least two different modes of operation supporting non-coinciding sets of data types transmitted over at least partial overlapping wires; if the link partner transceiver is not a multi data type communication link transceiver, operating the multi data type communication link according to the detected type of the link partner transceiver; if the link partner transceiver is a multi data type communication link transceiver, further comprising the steps of negotiating with the link partner the functionality required from the multi data type communication link, and switching the multi data type communication link transceiver to an appropriate mode of operation selected from a group comprising at least: a first active mode of operation that supports a first throughput of data, and a second low-power partial-functionality (LPPF) mode of operation that supports data transfer having a second throughput greater than zero and lower than one tenth of the first throughput.