Patent ID: 8260899

Claim:
A management agent embodied in a non-transitory tangible medium for processing management commands from a management station, the management agent being suitable for execution in a node cluster, where the node cluster includes a plurality of node members, the node members including a master node, a target node and a plurality of servant nodes, the management agent comprising: a receiving module configured to receive management data requested from the node members, the receiving module being further configured to communicate management commands from the target node to the master node, the target node being one of the plurality of servant nodes in the node cluster; and a sending module configured to send management data from the node members, the sending module being further configured to communicate a command response from the master node to the target node; and wherein any of the plurality of servant nodes can be the target node to forward the management command from the management station to the master node and send the command response from the master node to the management station.