Software-based fault tolerant networking using a single lan

The present invention provides a method of operating a computer network with fault-tolerant nodes, comprising determining the state of a first and second link between fault-tolerant nodes and other network nodes. Data sent by the fault-tolerant node to other nodes may then be sent over a link that is selected based on the state of the first and second links. In some embodiments of the invention this takes place in an intermediate node in a network, which receives data from an originating node and forwards it to a destination node via a link selected based on the state of the first and second links. In some further embodiments of the invention, fault-tolerant nodes contain network status tables that indicate the ability of the fault tolerant node to receive data from and transmit data to other nodes via each of the links connected to the fault-tolerant nodes.