Patent ID: 7440393

Claim:
A method for managing communication in a data network, the data network comprising a plurality of channels and a plurality of hosts, wherein each of the plurality of channels is connected to one or more hosts of the plurality of hosts in the data network, wherein each of the plurality of hosts is a data processing system, and wherein a monitor host is elected from the plurality of hosts, the method comprising the steps of: a. determining states of the plurality of channels and the plurality of hosts by the monitor host; b. updating the one or more hosts with the determined states by the monitor host, wherein the monitor host updates the one or more hosts by broadcasting a system state packet, and wherein the system state packet comprises the determined states; c. observing states of the plurality of channels by the one or more hosts; d. comparing the observed states with the determined states by the one or more hosts; and e. coordinating usage of the plurality of channels for communication in the data network, wherein the coordination is based upon updated states of the plurality of channels and the plurality of hosts, and wherein the updated states are determined by the monitor host based on the comparison performed by the one or more hosts.