Figure: The System Connectivity view shows the System Connectivity view that displays the status of system connections in a cluster. Use this view to monitor the system links and heartbeats.

VCS monitors systems and their services over a private network. The systems communicate via heartbeats over an additional private network, which enables them to recognize which systems are active members of the cluster, which are joining or leaving the cluster, and which have failed.

VCS protects against network failure by requiring that all systems be connected by two or more communication channels. When a system is down to a single heartbeat connection, VCS can no longer differentiate between the loss of a system and the loss of a network connection. This situation is referred to as jeopardy.

Point to a system icon to display a ScreenTip on the links and heartbeats. If a system in the cluster is experiencing a problem connecting to other systems, the system icon changes its appearance to indicate the link is down. In this situation, a jeopardy warning may appear in the ScreenTip for this system.