A given computer in a cluster communicates with multiple computers in the cluster i) via use of a network supporting communications from the multiple computers amongst each other, and ii) through accesses to the shared storage system to which each of the computers in the cluster have access. Each computer in the cluster i) supports communications over a network connection to the other computers and ii) includes a link (e.g., a fiber channel) directly to the shared storage system. Thus, if one communication path fails such as the network path, the other communication path such as the independent link to the shared storage supporting the ability to read/write to storage provides a backup means of communicating. Attributes associated with a cluster can therefore be properly maintained via the members even during a failure.