Patent ID: 8107499

Claim:
A method for negotiating communication speed between a first communication device and a second communication device communicating over a communication medium according to a physical layer protocol, the method comprising: defining a pattern of time intervals, each time interval having a respective assigned physical layer protocol communication speed, which alternates among multiple physical layer protocol communication speeds supported by the first communication device, wherein the pattern is defined such that first and second replicas of the pattern have at least one overlapping time interval of the same physical layer protocol communication speed for any arbitrary time offset between the first and second replicas; transmitting synchronization requests over the communication medium from the first communication device to the second communication device at the respective physical layer protocol communication speed that is assigned in each interval in accordance with the pattern; while transmitting the synchronization requests, attempting to receive synchronization replies sent over the communication medium to the first communication device in response to the synchronization requests only at the respective physical layer protocol communication speed that is assigned in each interval in accordance with the pattern; responsively to receiving the synchronization replies from the second communication device, identifying one or more common physical layer protocol communication speeds that are supported by both the first and the second communication devices; and establishing communication between the first and second communication devices over the communication medium according to the physical layer protocol using one of the common physical layer protocol communication speeds.