Patent ID: 7962595

Claim:
A computer implemented method for determining the status of a connection among a plurality of elements in a distributed system, wherein the plurality of elements comprises nodes of a network, the method comprising the steps of: determining an initial configuration of the connections among selected ones of the plurality of elements as a relationship of one of said selected elements to another of said elements, by creating a first parent table, wherein the first parent table denotes a root node for each node within a network, the column headings of the first parent table represent each selected node in the network and the column values of the first parent table represent the root node for that selected node, and the first parent table row represents the union of two nodes of said plurality of elements; wherein the union is associated with the connectivity of the two nodes; responsive to a stimulus, determining a second configuration of the connections among the selected elements, by creating a second parent table, wherein the second parent table denotes a root node for each node within the network, the column headings of the second parent table represent each selected node in the network and the column values of the second parent table represent the root node for that selected node, and the second parent table row represents the union of two nodes of said plurality of elements; wherein the union is associated with the connectivity of the two nodes; determining a current condition of the connections among the selected elements is based on at least the second configuration; and providing an indication when a significant change has occurred; wherein a significant change, based on a comparison of said first parent table and said second parent table, indicates an element of said plurality of elements has had a change in the number of connections for the element and is not connected to at least one other element; wherein the steps are executed by a computing device.