METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISCOVERING COMPUTER SYSTEMS IN A DISTRIBUTED MULTI-SYSTEM CLUSTER

A method of interconnecting a new node into a cluster of other nodes. The new node broadcasts a configuration (DP) packet describing itself to the other nodes of the cluster. The other nodes then respond by setting up communications information enabling the new node to directly communicate with a monitor process in the responding nodes and sending that information (DI packet) to the new node. The new node then sets up information enabling the responding nodes to communicate with a monitor process on the new node and sends that information (DC packet) to the responding nodes. The responding nodes then acknowledge the information (DA packet) and the new node is then interconnected with the responding nodes. The DP and DI packets are sent via a permissive interrupt mechanism, received by each processor unit making up a node and forwarded to the monitor process of the node.