TCP/IP address protection mechanism in a clustered server environment

摘要

A method and apparatus are disclosed which perform a simple check of the network adapter by sending a message to an address of a local adapter. If the message is not sent, then a more in depth check of the network is performed. The local computer sends a request to a first remote computer to ping the adapter on the local computer. If this ping is successful, then the local computer sends a request to a second remote computer to ping the adapter on the local computer. The pinging by two computers provides confirmation that the network adapter is functional. If both of the pings are unsuccessful, then the address of the network adapter is moved to another adapter on another computer.