Apparatus and methods for providing fault tolerance of networks and network interface cards
US6308282A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 10, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 23, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 10, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L69/40
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for implementation of fault-tolerant networks provide a network fault-tolerance manager for detecting failures and manipulating a node to communicate with an active channel. Failure detection incorporates one or more methods, including message pair and link pulse detection. Failure recovery includes switching all node data communications to a stand-by channel or switching just those nodes detecting a failure. Communication between nodes provides the distributed detection, with detecting nodes reporting failures to their network fault-tolerance manager and the network fault-tolerance manager broadcasting the failure recovery to all nodes. The network fault-tolerance manager is middleware, residing with each node in a logical hierarchy above a physical layer of a network and below a transport layer of the network. The approach is particularly suited to Ethernet LANs and capable of using commercial off-the-shelf network components.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.