Patent ID: 7324512

Claim:
A method of interconnecting first and second integrated computers respectively resident in first and second logical partitions in a logically-partitioned computer system, the method comprising: in a first device driver resident in the first integrated computer, initiating transfer of a network frame over a first virtual network in the first logical partition using a first virtual network adapter coupled to the first virtual network, wherein the network frame has a source media access control (MAC) address identifying a first MAC address associated with the first virtual network adapter, and a destination MAC address identifying a second MAC address; in a second device driver for a second virtual network adapter coupled to the first virtual network, detecting that the network frame communicated to the first virtual network is from the first virtual network adapter by detecting the first MAC address in the network frame, and in response thereto, forwarding the network frame to a third device driver for a third network adapter coupled to an inter-partition network; in the third device driver, initiating transfer of the network frame over the inter-partition network using the third network adapter and using the first MAC address as the source MAC address for the network frame; in a fourth device driver for a fourth network adapter coupled to the inter-partition network, detecting that the network frame communicated to the inter-partition network is addressed to a sixth virtual network adapter coupled to a second virtual network in the second logical partition and associated with the second MAC address, and in response thereto, forwarding the network frame to a fifth device driver for a fifth virtual network adapter coupled to the second virtual network; in the fifth device driver, initiating transfer of the network frame over the second virtual network using the fifth network adapter; and receiving the network frame with the sixth network adapter and passing the network frame to a sixth device driver resident in the second integrated computer.