Patent ID: 7676587

Claim:
A data processing system comprising a cluster of servers and a local area network interconnecting the servers for distributing client requests from network clients to the servers, wherein the servers are programmed for producing replies to the client requests, the local area network is configured for returning the replies to the client requests from the servers to the network clients, and the servers and the local area network are configured so that the servers share a common network protocol address for receipt of the client requests distributed by the local area network from the network clients to the servers, and wherein the servers and the local area network are configured for transmission of a server request by any one of the servers in the cluster to the clients in accordance with a data link layer protocol, and in response to the server request, for transmission of a reply from one of the clients in accordance with the data link layer protocol through the local area network back to said any one of the servers in the cluster wherein the data link layer protocol is an address resolution protocol for use by said any one of the servers for determining a local area network address of said one of the clients, and said one of the clients is specified by a network protocol address included in the server request, and said local area network address is included in the reply from said one of the clients.