> > No, spanning tree, trunk auto negotiation mode, PoE negotiation etc
> does not block the negotiation in any way. And no, auto > > negotiation
> is not about listening for traffic, both parties present a list of which
> mode they can operate in.
> 
> There is NO negotation. Read the Cisco docs and RFCs. Only with gigabit
> is there an actual negotiation of protocols. When "auto" is set at
> 100MB, it's a educated guess, not a protocol or negotation. Etherchannel
> and trunking can interfere with the auto negotation, read the Cisco
> "Best Practices" to understand why the recommend "set port host" when
> doing "auto".

It may not work every time, but it's not an educated guess.  There's a
protocol for exchanging the abilities of each side.  

Here's a couple of links that explain the protocol.

http://www.ethermanage.com/ethernet/pdf/dell-auto-neg.pdf
http://www.scyld.com/NWay.html

-- 
Darren Dunham                                           ddunham AT taos DOT com
Senior Technical Consultant         TAOS            http://www.taos.com/
Got some Dr Pepper?                           San Francisco, CA bay area
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