Patent ID: 7844236

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: an n number of receivers, where n is an integer greater than one, and where each of the receivers is coupled to a separate communications link; a shared adaptation unit (SAU); and an interconnect for selectively coupling the SAU to each of the n receivers to enable the SAU to be shared by the n receivers, wherein a receiver becomes a currently coupled receiver when the interconnect couples the SAU to that receiver, and wherein each of the n receivers at some point will become a currently coupled receiver; wherein each receiver comprises: a receiver storage for storing a plurality of compensation values, wherein each compensation value corresponds to a particular combination of digital history bits, and wherein each compensation value indicates an effect that a particular combination of digital history bits has on a currently received signal; and wherein the SAU comprises: an adaptation manager configured to interact with a currently coupled receiver to adjust the plurality of compensation values stored by the currently coupled receiver to customize the plurality of compensation values stored by the currently coupled receiver for the communications link to which the currently coupled receiver is coupled.