> The PCS doesn't support in-band status in 2500Base-X mode, or at least > the implementation isn't compatible with those RealTek PHYs. Is one or the other not actually 2500Base-X, but SGMII over clocked? Overclocked SGMII cannot do in-band signalling. It could well be the PCS is 2500BaseX, but the PHY is over clocked SGMII, and so the PCS is not seeing the in-band signalling it expects, so never reports link. Andrew