Patent ID: 7836351

Claim:
A system for providing a peer to peer communication for a SAS cluster wherein the SAS cluster includes a first node, a second node and at least one SAS enclosure serially connected to the first and second nodes, comprising: a first firmware detecting an asynchronous event occurrence; a first driver communicatively coupled to the first firmware, the first driver receiving an asynchronous event notification from the first firmware; a first application communicatively coupled to the first driver, the first application querying details of the asynchronous event occurrence, including the details of the asynchronous event occurrence into an event notification message, and the first application sending the event notification message through an alternative path when the first driver signals the asynchronous event occurrence to the first application, wherein the alternative path has been established between the first application and a second application, the second application suitable for communicating with the first application through the alternative path, wherein the second application receives the event notification message including the details of the asynchronous event occurrence in the first node; a second firmware suitable for communicating with the first firmware through the at least one SAS enclosure; and a second driver communicatively coupled to the second application, the second driver passing a command from the second application to the second firmware, the command being based on the event notification message which has been sent from the first application to the second application, wherein the first node includes the first application, the first driver, and the first firmware and the second node includes the second application, the second driver, and the second firmware, the second firmware sends a status of a cluster support operation to the second application via the second driver when the second firmware receives a cluster support operation call from the second application and the cluster support operation call is based on the message sent by the first application, and upon reception of the status of the cluster support operation from the second firmware, the second application sends an acknowledgment regarding the cluster support operation to the first application which in return passes the acknowledgment to the first firmware via the first driver.