Patent ID: 8769533

Claim:
A method performed in a data processing system having a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, at least one input/output (I/O) adapter that enables connection to an external network, and a virtualization management component executing within the data processing system that generates a plurality of operating system (OS) partitions, the method comprising: preconfiguring, before transmission of one or more outgoing network packets from a first virtual machine of a plurality of virtual machines on a primary host, a physical network adapter of the data processing system to buffer outgoing packets of virtual machines employing a checkpointing technology, wherein the physical network adapter is configured with Single Root IO Virtualization technology (i.e., SR-IOV), wherein the physical network adapter is represented to the primary host as a plurality of virtual input/output (I/O) adapters, wherein each virtual I/O adapter of the plurality of virtual I/O adapters is assigned to a virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines, and wherein each virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines of the plurality of virtual I/O adapters is assigned a unique media access control (MAC) address; receiving, from one or more virtual machines of the plurality of virtual machines, configuration information associated with the one or more virtual machines that provides an indication that the one or more virtual machines employ a checkpointing technology; receiving, at the physical network adapter, the one or more outgoing network packets originating from a first virtual machine on the primary host; in response to receiving the one or more outgoing network packets from the first virtual machine, the physical network adapter: determining whether the first virtual machine employs the checkpointing technology; and in response to determining the first virtual machine employs the checkpointing technology, buffering the one or more outgoing network packets from the first virtual machine within a dedicated buffer at the physical network adapter; the physical network adapter receiving a notification that a checkpointing operation has successfully completed; and in response to the physical network adapter receiving a notification that the checkpointing operation has successfully completed, triggering, using a checkpoint command, transmission of the buffered one or more outgoing network packets from the physical network adapter to a destination within a corresponding network; wherein the physical network adapter is aware of the existence of the plurality of virtual machines and individual traffic originating from the plurality of virtual machines.