Patent ID: 7012436

Claim:
A physical layer device that is adapted to communicate with a cable medium and that communicates with an indicator, comprising: a first input/output terminal; a first transceiver that communicates with said first input/output terminal that is adapted to be connected to a cable medium; and a cable tester that tests the cable medium and determines a cable status using a pretest module that senses activity on the cable medium and enables testing if activity is not detected for a first period, and a test module that is enabled by said pretest module, transmits a test pulse on the cable medium, measures a reflection amplitude and calculates a cable length, wherein said cable tester determines said cable status based on said measured amplitude and said calculated cable length, and wherein the indicator indicates at least one of cable testing status during said test and said cable status after said test, and wherein the indicator also indicates at least one of link presence, link absence, link activity, link duplex and link speed of said first input/output terminal during normal operation.