Patent ID: 7725579

Claim:
A computer readable storage medium having a program of machine readable instructions executed to perform operations, wherein a first server at a local site is in communication with a first primary site disk and second secondary site disk at the local site and a first secondary site disk and a second primary site disk at a remote site, wherein the program is executed to perform remotely monitoring activity by performing operations, the operations comprising: generating first server heartbeat information at the first server at the local site; storing the first server heartbeat information on the first primary site disk at the local site; periodically repeating at a second frequency, the operation of sending the first server heartbeat information from the first primary site disk, to the first secondary site disk at the remote site; periodically repeating at a first frequency, wherein the second frequency is larger than the first frequency, the operation of receiving at the first server information from the second secondary site disk at the local site; determining if the information received from the second secondary site disk includes updated heartbeat information, and if so, transmitting a confirming signal from the local site to the remote site, wherein the confirming signal transmitted from the local site indicates that the local site received the updated heartbeat information from the remote site; and determining if the information received from the second secondary site disk at the local site does not include updated heartbeat information for a pre-defined threshold consecutive number of repetitions of the operation of receiving information from the second secondary site disk at the local site.