Adapting communication link parameters using signal-to-noise (SNR) deviation metrics

A method comprising:

• receiving equalized error data from a receiver circuit;
• determining, using the equalized error data and a nominal signal power, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) deviation metric, the SNR deviation metric being indicative of a post-Forward Error Correction (FEC) bit error rate (BER) of an FEC system coupled to the receiver circuit;
• and
• adjusting, based on the SNR deviation metric, at least one of an FEC parameter of the FEC system or a link parameter of the receiver circuit to reduce the post-FEC BER of the FEC system.

A communication system comprising:

• a Serializer/Deserializer (SerDes) circuit coupled to a communication channel;
• a Forward Error Correction (FEC) system operatively coupled to the SerDes circuit;
• and
• a controller operatively coupled to the SerDes circuit and the FEC system, wherein the controller is to:
• receive equalized error data from the SerDes circuit;
• determine, using the equalized error data and a nominal signal power, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) deviation metric, the SNR deviation metric being indicative of an estimated post-FEC bit error rate (BER) of the FEC system;
• and
• change, based on the SNR deviation metric, one or more parameters of the FEC system or the SerDes circuit.