For the VCS private network, two network channels must be available to carry heartbeat information. These network connections also transmit other VCS-related information.

Each HP-UX cluster configuration requires at least two network channels between the systems. The requirement for two channels protects your cluster against network partitioning. For more information on network partitioning, refer to the Veritas Cluster Server User's Guide.

Figure: Two Ethernet connections connecting two nodes illustrates a two-node VCS cluster where the nodes galaxy and nebula have two private network connections.