Patent ID: 8352938

Claim:
A method for migrating a first virtual machine and a communication queue, including at least one work item, from a first real computer to a second real computer, before migration, said first virtual machine having an operating system and an application in a first private memory private to said first virtual machine, before migration, said communication queue, including said at least one work item, residing in a first shared memory shared and accessible by said first virtual machine and a plurality of additional virtual machines in said first real computer, said method comprising the steps of: stopping processing in said first virtual machine and all of said plurality of additional virtual machines that includes a second virtual machine in said first real computer to prevent said first virtual machine and said plurality of additional virtual machines from updating said communication queue in said first real computer; while processing in said first machine and the plurality of additional virtual machines is are stopped, said first real computer communicating said operating system, said application and said communication queue, including said at least one work item, to said second real computer, and said second real computer writing said operating system and application into a second private memory in said second real computer, and said second real computer writing said communication queue, including said at least one work item, into a second shared memory in said second real computer; and allocating said second private memory and other resources in said second real computer for a migrated virtual machine corresponding to said first virtual machine and a plurality of additional migrated virtual machines corresponding to each of the plurality of additional virtual machines, and granting said migrated virtual machine access to said communication queue, including said at least one work item, in said second shared memory.