Abstract: The present invention discloses a technique for sharing data between at least two operating systems. In accordance with the present invention, a volume is provided in a data storage device. The provided volume is a portion of memory within the data storage device. The provided volume is accessible by a source operating system residing on a source computer and a target operating system residing on a target computer. Data is generated within the provided volume using the source operating system. The generated data is in a format that is readable by the target operating system.

Abstract: A tiered communications service which utilizes multiple methods of communication and provides the ability for different host computer systems to pass dam, unconcerned with the type of communications medium used by the service. Each method of communication is ranked according to its preference within the service. When the communications service encounters an error while attempting to send data to another host system, it performs an automatic switch to the method with the next lower preference which is available for use. The service sends notification to the other system of the change in communications method used and which method to start using, then continues sending the data. The communications method may be switched to a higher or lower preferred method explicitly by operator command, which also sends notification to the other systems of a change in method.