Patent ID: 8169894

Claim:
A method for providing fault tolerant communications, by a fault tolerant driver, between a first device and a second device, wherein the first device comprises the fault tolerant driver, a first protocol driver paired with a first network adapter, a second protocol driver paired with a second network adapter, and an application paired with a third protocol driver, the method comprising: receiving, by the fault tolerant driver, data from the application via the third protocol driver, the fault tolerant driver coupled to the first protocol driver and to the second protocol driver, the first device coupled to the second device through a first pathway over a first network via the first network adapter, and the first device further coupled to the second device through a second pathway over a second network via the second network adapter; detecting, by the fault tolerant driver, a failure of the first pathway; if, based on the detecting, the first pathway has not failed, then routing, by the fault tolerant driver, the data received via the third protocol driver via the first protocol driver and through the first pathway to the second device, wherein the first protocol driver is separate from the third protocol driver; and if, based on the detecting, the first pathway has failed, then routing, by the fault tolerant driver, the data received via the third protocol driver via the second protocol driver and through the second pathway to the second device, wherein the second protocol driver is separate from the third protocol driver.