Patent ID: 7970951

Claim:
A method for media-based data transfer, comprising: receiving a plurality of data using a first transfer protocol, by a first virtual network interface card (VNIC) from a second VNIC, wherein the first VNIC is associated with a first virtual machine (VM) and the second VNIC is associated with a second VM, wherein the first VM is located on a first computer, the second VM is located on a second computer, and the first computer and the second computer are communicatively coupled with each other via a chassis interconnect, wherein the first computer and the second computer share a first physical network interface and wherein the first computer and second computer access the first physical network interface via the chassis interconnect, wherein the first VNIC and the second VNIC are nodes of a virtual network path, wherein the first transfer protocol is selected based on a first determination that data transferred between the first VNIC and the second VNIC only uses a first media type, wherein the first determination is made using, at least in part, the second VNIC, wherein the first media type is the chassis interconnect, wherein the first transfer protocol maximizes a data transfer rate between the first VNIC and the second VNIC; making a second determination, using at least in part the first VNIC, that data transferred between the first VNIC and a second physical network interface on a third computer uses the first media type and a second media type, wherein the second media type is a standard network connection; choosing a second transfer protocol based on the second determination, wherein the second transfer protocol maximizes a data transfer rate from the first VNIC to the second physical network interface, and the first transfers protocol is different than the second transfer protocol; and transferring the plurality of data from the first VNIC to the second physical network interface using the second transfer protocol.