Patent ID: 7977951

Claim:
A first physical layer module, comprising: an auto-negotiation module configured to determine a plurality of data transfer rates at which the first physical layer module is capable of communicating with a second physical layer module, wherein a cable connects the first physical layer module to the second physical layer module; a first cable-length measuring module configured to perform a first measurement of a length of the cable; and a first control module configured to selectively receive a second measurement of the length of the cable from the second physical layer module, select a first data transfer rate from the plurality of data transfer rates at which the first physical layer module is capable of communicating with the second physical layer module based on the first measurement of the length of the cable performed by the first cable-length measuring module of the first physical layer module, or the second measurement of the length of the cable received from the second physical layer module, and link the first physical layer module to the second physical layer module at the first data transfer rate.