A DSL system (200) includes an aggregation device (202) comprising a plurality of ports, a multi-port device (204) comprising a plurality of ports and one or more links (206) that link the plurality of ports of the aggregation device (202) with the plurality of ports of the multi-port device (204). The one or more links (206) are fewer in quantity than the plurality of ports of the aggregation device (202) and fewer in quantity than the plurality of ports of the multi-port device (204). The multi-port device (204) and the aggregation device (202) communicate information in one or both of an autonomous mechanism or a polled mechanism.