Patent ID: 8576727

Claim:
A method in a first network device that enables network management of a link between said first network device and a second network device, said first network device coupled to said second network device via a network cable, comprising: accessing a first unique identifier that is generated for use by an auto-negotiation module in a first Open System Interconnection (OSI) Layer 1 physical layer device in said first network device; transmitting, by said first OSI Layer 1 physical layer device, said first unique identifier to a second OSI Layer 1 physical layer device in said second network device using a first next page message, said transmitting occurring during an auto-negotiation process that chooses common transmission parameters between said first OSI Layer 1 physical layer device and said second OSI Layer 1 physical layer device; receiving, by said first OSI Layer 1 physical layer device during said auto-negotiation process, a second unique identifier from said second OSI Layer 1 physical layer device in a second next page message; receiving a protocol message at an OSI layer higher than OSI Layer 1 in said first network device via said network cable, said protocol message including a third unique identifier; comparing said second unique identifier to said third unique identifier; and generating an alert if said comparison indicates that said second unique identifier is different than said third unique identifier, said generated alert preventing at least one property of said link from being changed.