A method for monitoring replica servers in a networked computer system is provided,
in which each server in the system has a replica partner vector table that includes
state information about other servers in the system. The replica partner vector
table includes data fields for storing an update sequence number (USN) and timestamp
information that identifies the time of the last update and/or the time last successful
replication attempt for each replica server in the system. After each successful
replication, the server updates the entries in the replica partner vector to reflect
the updated USN and timestamp information. The replica monitoring method evaluates
the USN and timestamp entries in the replica partner vector table to determine
if any servers in the system are latent. If the monitoring method detects that
a server in the system is latent, an alert is generated whereby users and/or a
network administrator are informed of the problem.