IMO, this is an area where configurable alternatives would be useful, since the "network storm" problem is a real issue, as is the lower QOS that comes if the primary buddy doesn't automatically take over the data. A couple of config options come to mind (option names I just made up with very little thought): 1) "primary-backup-take-ownership" boolean flag -- if true, the behavior Gianlucca is looking for occurs. 2) minBuddies -- indicates the minimum number of buddies a node has to have; if a node fails, the affected nodes check this to decide whether they have to elect a new buddy and/or take ownership (if they are the primary). View the original post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&p=4004620#... Reply to the post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=posting&mode=reply&a...