Patent ID: 7543046

Claim:
A computer implemented method for managing node-specific quorum roles in a cluster of nodes, comprising: assigning a configuration change of node role attributes to a node in a cluster, each node role attribute of the node role attributes represented by a bit of a binary value; converting the binary value corresponding to the node role attributes specified by the configuration change to an integer value; storing the integer value in a node record associated with the node; accessing the node record and isolating each bit of the integer value associated with the node; identifying the node role attributes assigned to the node from each of the isolated bits of the integer value associated with the node; determining whether the configuration change can be safely supported by a configuration quorum of nodes required to represent the cluster accurately based on the identified node role attributes; determining whether a required operational quorum of nodes permits access to critical and shared resources based on the identified node role attributes; seeking endorsement for the configuration change from subsystems that may be affected by the configuration change; and propagating the identified role node attributes to other nodes within the cluster.