Patent ID: 11907253
Assignee: CISCO TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Field: Digital communication (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  H | IPC G  H

Claim 7:
8. An apparatus, comprising:
a communication interface that enables network communications;
a hardware processor; and
a memory storing data and instructions executable by the hardware processor,
wherein the hardware processor is configured to execute the instructions to:
establish a first subnet for replication in a first cluster that includes a plurality of host devices, each of the host devices including a respective controller virtual machine, which together form a virtual local area network for replication, each of the controller virtual machines being assigned an Ethernet interface;
assign a respective replication Internet Protocol (IP) address to the Ethernet interface of each of the controller virtual machines;
modify route tables and firewall rules of the controller virtual machines to allow communications between nodes of the first subnet;
designate a node in the first cluster to control replication operations with a second cluster, and assign to the node in the first cluster a replication cluster IP address;
receive, by the node in the first cluster, via the replication cluster IP address, information related to a second subnet for replication in a second cluster;
determine whether the second subnet and the first subnet are engaged in a self-pairing operation;
in response to determining that the second subnet and the first subnet are not engaged in a self-pairing operation, configure the first subnet with the information related to the second subnet to pair the first cluster with the second cluster;
generate a dedicated communication channel for replication between the first cluster and the second cluster based on the configuring;
communicate information for disaster recovery to the second cluster through the dedicated communication channel so as to provide backup protection for the first cluster;
determine that the second subnet is not reachable for a predetermined amount of time; and
remove the dedicated communication channel for replication between the first cluster and the second cluster by un-pairing the first cluster from the second cluster, wherein the un-pairing is performed at the first cluster, but not at the second cluster, which is not reachable.