Patent ID: 7519737

Claim:
A method comprising the steps of: providing a first device on a first node of a communications network, the first device configured to connect to and scan I/O devices; providing a second device on a second node of the communications network, the second device configured to connect to and scan the I/O devices; assigning a first address to a the first node and a second address to a the second node, wherein the first address is characteristic of a primary mode of operation; initiating from the first node a first communications command in a peer protocol format addressed to the second node; initiating from the second node a second communications command in the peer protocol format addressed to the first node; identifying the second device on the second node as a peer device within the first device on the first node responsive to receiving the second communications command at the first node; identifying the first device on the first node as a peer device within the second device on the second node responsive to receiving the first communications command at the second node; wherein the peer device is a programmable logic controller (PLC) device; scanning the I/O devices by the first device on the first node; determining that the first node is inoperable; initiating at the second node an exchange of the first address and the second address responsive to determining that the first node is inoperable; resetting a connection between the first device and the I/O devices responsive to determining that the first node is inoperable; and assigning the first address to the second node and the second address to the first node responsive to initiating the exchange.