Patent ID: 6834302
Filing Date: 2004-12-21
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A method for implementing a heartbeat protocol, comprising:sending, directly to one or more selected servers, heartbeat messages from a single selected computer, indicating the availability of computer resources on one or more computers in a network associated with the single selected computer, such that loss of heartbeat messages from the single selected computer is indicative that all computer resources on the one or more computers are unavailable, and the presence of a heartbeat from the single selected computer is indicative that all computer resources are available; generating a message by the single selected computer in accordance with the heartbeat protocol to indicate availability status of the one or more computer resources; transmitting the message that indicates unavailability of the one or more computer resources by the single selected computer before a predetermined downtime; and receiving an acknowledgement of the unavailability message from the one or more servers to the single selected computer.