a communication channel includes a first component having a transmitter coupled to a normal signal source , and a second component having a receiver coupled to a normal signal destination . a communication link couples the first and second components . calibration logic provides for setting an operation value for a parameter of the communication channel , such as by executing an exhaustive calibration sequence at initialization of the link . a tracking circuit , including a monitoring function , tracks drift in the parameter by monitoring a feedback signal that has a characteristic that correlates with drift in the communication channel , and updates , or indicates the need for updating of , the operation value of the parameter in response to the monitoring function .