METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MONITORING A NODE IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM

A method for monitoring a target node in a distributed system, that includes determining a plurality of neighbor nodes of the target node, determining a plurality of neighbor watch nodes, wherein the plurality of neighbor watch nodes are selected from the plurality of neighbor nodes, monitoring at least one selected from the group consisting of data sent by the target node and data received by the target node, using at least one of the plurality of neighbor watch nodes to obtain tracking information, and determining, using at least one the plurality of neighbor watch nodes, an action to perform using the tracking information and a response policy, wherein the action is specified in the response policy, wherein the distributed system implements an overlay network for message delivery.