The following figure shows the position of the auto-negotiation function in the OSI reference model.
The Auto-Negotiation Intellectual Property Core (ANIPC) implements the requirements as specified in Clause 73, IEEE Std 802.3-2015, including those amendments specified in IEEE Std. P802.3ba and 802.3ap. The functions of the ANIPC core are listed in clause 73, specifically Figure 73-11, Arbitration state diagram, in section 73.10.4, State Diagrams.
During normal mission mode operation, with link control outputs set to (bin)11, the bit operating frequency of the transceiver input and output is typically 10.3125 or 25.78125 Gb/s. However, the Dual Manchester Encoding (DME) bit rate used on the lane during Auto-Negotiation is different from the mission mode operation. To accommodate this requirement, the ANIPC core uses over-sampling and over-driving to match the 156.25 Mb/s Auto-Negotiation speed (DME clock frequency 312.5 MHz) with the mission mode 10.3125 or 25.78125 Gb/s physical lane speed.