Patent ID: 8321926

Claim:
A computer system, comprising: a back panel including a protected back panel portion and a non-protected back panel portion, including: a first logical node; a second logical node; a back panel network that connects the first logical node to the second logical node for communication, wherein the first and second logical nodes are in the non-protected back panel portion; a switch configured to the back panel network and associated with the first logical node, wherein the switch includes a blocked state for selectively isolating to block the first logical node from communicating with the back panel network, and an unblocked state for allowing the first logical node to be in communication with the back panel network; and an I/O controller that controls the switch to be in the blocked state or the unblocked state, wherein the I/O controller is in the protected back panel portion; a first computer device connected to the first logical node; a second computer device connected to the second logical node; and a network interface unit (NIU) connected to the first computer device and a trusted network, wherein when the switch is in the blocked state, the first computer device is not in direct communication with the trusted network, and the first computer device is configured to send data to the trusted network via the NIU and receive data from the trusted network via the NIU.