Patent ID: 8315264

Claim:
A method of communicating information, comprising: partitioning a first information handling system (IHS) into a plurality of first virtual nodes, each first virtual node executing a respective operating system, each first virtual node sharing a common first network adapter; partitioning a second information handling system (IHS) into a plurality of second virtual nodes, each second virtual node executing a respective operating system, each second virtual node sharing a common second network adapter; coupling the first and second network adapters together via a first switch to enable communication between the first virtual nodes and the second virtual nodes; storing in an address resolution protocol (ARP) table, by the first IHS, path health information for paths among the first virtual nodes and the second virtual nodes; and accessing, by the first IHS, the path health information in the ARP table to determine if communication between a particular first virtual node and a particular second virtual node is possible, the communication being allowed to proceed if the path health information indicates that a path between the particular first virtual node and the particular second virtual node is available, the communication being halted if the path health information indicates that a path between the particular first virtual node and the particular second virtual node is not available.