Characterization of communication links

A method, comprising:

• activating a training mode of a receiver circuit coupled to a communication channel;
• receiving, by the receiver circuit via the communication channel, a test signal;
• recovering, by the receiver circuit, a plurality of recovered symbols and a plurality of samples from the test signal;
• determining, by the receiver circuit, in response to determining that a particular condition occurred in the plurality of recovered symbols, a conditional probability distribution of the test signal using a number of a particular logic value in the plurality of samples;
• and
• adjusting at least one operating parameter of the receiver circuit using a statistical measurement of the conditional probability distribution of the test signal.

A system, comprising:

• a first device coupled to a communication channel, wherein the first device is configured, in response to activation of a training mode, to transmit training data via the communication channel;
• and
• a second device coupled to the communication channel, wherein the second device includes a receiver circuit configured to:
• receive an input signal via the communication channel, wherein the input signal includes the training data;
• sample the training data included in the input signal to generate recovered symbols;
• determine a conditional probability distribution of the training data included in the input signal in response to a determination that a particular pattern has occurred in the recovered data;
• and
• adjust at least one operating parameter of the receiver circuit based on a statistical measurement of the conditional probability distribution.