Patent ID: 8438253

Claim:
A method operated in conjunction with one or more processors to update network devices, comprising: selecting a first member within a plurality of members in a first cluster; bifurcating the first cluster, wherein the bifurcation comprises: creating a second cluster, wherein the second cluster includes the selected first member; activating the first member within the second cluster, wherein the first member is activated with a defined configuration upgrade; and iteratively upgrading each other member in the first cluster by: employing cluster state mirroring to move an existing connection managed by a member to be joined in the second cluster by at least one other member in the first cluster; removing the member to be joined in the second cluster from the first cluster; upgrading the member to be joined in the second cluster with the defined upgrade; and joining the upgraded member as a member to the second cluster; and determining if a defined failover criteria is satisfied, and if the defined failover criteria is satisfied, failing over connectivity from the first cluster to the second cluster such that the second cluster becomes an active cluster for managing connections.