A highly available shared file system is described for use in computing
environments. A floating network address can be associated with any one
of a plurality of servers. The floating network address is associated
with a first server. An area of data on a storage device is made
available by the first server to be accessed by the other servers. The
other servers then refer to the floating network address to access the
area of data through the first server. If the first server becomes
unavailable, the floating network address is transferred from the first
server to a second server. The area of data is then made available by the
second server to be accessed by the other servers. The other servers
continue to access the area of data through the second server by
referring to the floating network address.