Patent ID: 7574630

Claim:
A method, in a storage system which has first and second expanders that are configured to couple to a plurality of devices, the method comprising: detecting an interface failure of a first interface of the first expander, wherein the first interface is configured to retrieve state information of the storage system for the first expander; and retrieving the state information from a second expander to the first expander using a second interface of the first expander when the interface failure of the first interface is detected, wherein the state information normally available to the first expander through the first interface is unavailable through the first interface due to the interface failure of the first interface, wherein retrieving the state information from the second expander comprises: notifying the second expander of the interface failure by sending an interrupt from a first driver of a first operating system, associated with the first expander, to a second driver of a second operating system, associated with the second expander; and receiving the state information from the second expander in response to notifying the second expander of the interface failure.