Transparent TCP connection failover

This paper describes a system that enables the failover of a TCP server endpoint in a manner that is transparent to the clients and to the server applications. The failover can occur at any time during the lifetime of a connection. The failover is achieved by modifying the server’s TCP/IP stack. No modifications are required to the client’s TCP/IP stack, the client application or the server application. The system supports active or semi-active replication of the server. 1