SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MAXIMIZING CONNECTIVITY DURING NETWORK FAILURES IN A CLUSTER SYSTEM

摘要

An apparatus, method, and system are directed to maximizing network connectivity after a network failure in a network clustering system. A cluster master in a cluster is configured to manage membership to the cluster based, in part, on a connectivity of the members to adjacent networks. A network device sends information about its connectivity to the cluster master. The cluster master compares the received information to determine whether the network device has different connectivity than the cluster. If the network device has different connectivity, the cluster master may deny cluster membership to the network device. By rejecting network devices with different connectivity, the invention ensures that data received by the cluster may be delivered with substantially equal reliability by virtually any of the cluster members. Thus, even the cluster master may be rejected from membership to the cluster.