Patent ID: 7937505

Claim:
A system for exchanging parameters between a first agent and a second agent comprising: a dynamic random access memory coupled to at least the first agent or the second agent; the first agent and the second agent coupled via a link interconnect that supports a layered protocol with at least a physical layer and a link layer; the first agent and the second agent with different interface capabilities; the physical layer for the link interconnect to be initialized and error detection for the link layer is enabled; the first agent and second agent to correspond via a plurality of control messages until a negotiation is completed to allow the first agent and the second agent to resolve the difference in interface capabilities without a need for intervention from an another agent, wherein a first type of control message is utilized until reset sequences that are performed before link layer initialization is complete, a second type of control message is utilized after either the first agent or the second agent receives a message indicating readiness to perform parameter exchange, and a third type of control message is used to exchange link layer parameters.