Patent ID: 7634601

Claim:
In a computer system having a plurality of computers and a plurality of storage systems, each of the plurality of computers connected to each other via a network, the network allowing the plurality of computers to exchange network information, each of the plurality of computers being connected to at least one of the storage systems, and each of the storage systems being connected to each other via a mirroring link, the mirroring link allowing the storage systems to exchange storage data, each computer having software associated with a simulated network interface driver for sending and receiving network information, a method for communicating network information from a first computer of said plurality of computers to a second computer of the plurality of computers without use of the network comprising the steps of: choosing to use the simulated network interface driver; receiving, from the first computer, write transmission packets containing network information of the network including a heartbeat datagram and destined for the simulated network interface driver, the write transmission packets being stored into an internal thread of the simulated network interface driver; copying the transmission packets including a heartbeat datagram into a first buffer of a first storage system coupled to the first computer; upon filling the first buffer to a predetermined point, waking the internal thread to process the filled first buffer, wherein the internal thread writes the contents of the first buffer to a second buffer of a second storage system coupled to a second processor using the mirroring link, which may be shutdown receipt upon receipt of a shutdown request, enabling continuous availability of the network information without use of the primary network between respective ones of the computers; and the second processor reading the network information from the second storage system.