Patent ID: 8209371

Claim:
A method for managing communication in a computer network using aliases of computer network addresses, comprising: assigning a primary network address and at least a secondary network address to each server among plural servers connected to a switch, wherein the secondary network address of the server is an alias for the primary network address of the server; transmitting a first information packet from a first server of the plural servers to a switch to communicate an identity of the first server to a second server and to establish the second server as a victim server for the first server, wherein a source address included in the information packet is the primary network address of the first server; receiving, at the switch, a second information packet destined for the first server while connection information to the first server is lost, deleted, or inaccessible from a connection table at the switch; modifying, by the switch, the source address included in the first information packet received by the switch to be the secondary network address of the first server, thus creating a modified information packet; forwarding, by the switch, the modified information packet to the second server; and forwarding, by the switch, the second information packet to the second server that serves as the victim server for the first server and receives the second information packet on behalf of the first server when the connection information to the first server is lost, deleted, or inaccessible.