Patent ID: 8839408

Claim:
A method performed by a server for communicating with a user accounts database located inside a firewall, wherein the user accounts database stores information associated with one or more user accounts, comprising: receiving, from a first agent of two agents that are running inside the firewall, a check in communication via a permitted firewall communication channel, wherein the check in communication is received via the permitted firewall communication channel without modifying a firewall configuration; in response to receiving the check in communication: determining whether the first agent is a primary agent or a backup agent; responsive to determining that the first agent is the backup agent, sending to the first agent an indication that there is no instruction to be performed; and responsive to determining that the first agent is the primary agent: determining an instruction to be performed by the first agent, wherein performing the instruction causes the first agent to communicate with the user accounts database; sending the instruction to the first agent via the permitted firewall communication channel; and resetting a timeout associated with the primary agent; determining whether the timeout has expired; and responsive to determining that the timeout has expired, designating the backup agent to be the primary agent.