Deadman switch

A deadman switch is an action that occurs when Cluster Aware AIX® (CAA) detects that a node has become isolated in a multinode environment. This setting occurs when nodes are not communicating with each other via the network and the repository disk.

The AIX operating system can react differently depending on the deadman switch setting or the deadman_mode which is tunable. The deadman switch mode can be set to either force a system shut down or generate an Autonomic Health Advisor File System (AHAFS) event.