Patent ID: 8572609

Claim:
A method of maintaining a network device including a plurality of hosted virtual machines, the method comprising: the network device communicating a first message to a first hosted virtual machine, wherein the network device includes the first hosted virtual machine and a second hosted virtual machine; waiting a time duration to receive a second message from the first hosted virtual machine, wherein the second message is received in response to the first message; in response to not receiving the second message from the first hosted virtual machine within the time duration, configuring a virtual machine data interface in the network device such that network traffic in the network device bypasses the first hosted virtual machine but does not bypass the second hosted virtual machine, wherein the network traffic that bypasses the first hosted virtual machine is either dropped or communicated to an intended destination; in response to not receiving the second message within the time duration from the first hosted virtual machine and detecting that a virtual machine application in the first hosted virtual machine is expected to perform a critical function, enabling a network device bypass function so that the network device does not process any portion of the network traffic; in response to receiving the second message within the time duration and determining that the virtual machine data interface is configured such that the network traffic bypasses the first hosted virtual machine but does not bypass the second hosted virtual machine, configuring the virtual machine data interface such that the network traffic does not bypass the first hosted virtual machine and also does not bypass the second hosted virtual; and in response to receiving the second message within the time duration and determining that the network device bypass function is enabled, disabling the network device bypass functioned.