Patent ID: 7991914

Claim:
A system for accessing a cluster of servers from a public network using a single public IP address included with an access request from the public network to one or more routing devices coupled to the public network, the single IP address corresponding collectively to the cluster of servers, said system comprising: a plurality of load balancers for accessing said cluster of servers, a first private network logically interposed between said one or more routing devices and said plurality of load balancers, and a second private network logically interposed between said plurality of load balancers and said cluster of servers, each of said load balancers comprising: a central processing unit, a computer-readable memory and a computer-readable tangible storage device; program instructions, responsive to said each load balancer attaining an active state, to record that a common private IP address is an alias for said each load balancer and advertise to the one or more routing devices via the first private network said common private IP address as said alias for said each load balancer, and responsive to said each load balancer switching from the active state to a standby state, to terminate the record that said common private IP address is said alias for said each load balancer, such that only one of said plurality of load balancers processes said access request, said access request including the single public IP address sent from the public network and received via one of the routing devices and the first private network, said one or more routing devices correlating the single public IP address in the access request to said common private IP address; program instructions, responsive to said access request, to determine if said each load balancer has a record of the common private IP address as said alias in said each load balancer, and if so, process the access request by selecting, based on a load balancing algorithm, one of the servers in the cluster to satisfy the access request and forwarding to the one server the access request, including the single public IP address, with another alias for the one server, the single public IP address with the other alias addressing the one server in the cluster; and if not, not process the access request and thereby, not select any of the servers in the cluster to satisfy the access request and not forward the access request to any of the servers in the cluster; and wherein all of said program instructions are stored on said computer-readable tangible storage device for execution by said central processing unit via said computer-readable memory.