Method for handling node failures and reloads in a fault tolerant clustered database supporting transaction registration and fault-in logic

A modified transaction registration protocol is disclosed. The registration protocol is inherently centralized in that processes requesting registration to participate in the work of a transaction, must send a request to a Broadcast Owner CPU which is the CPU that initiated the transaction. The processes wait, suspended, until a response is received from the Broadcast Owner CPU. However, if the Broadcast Owner CPU fails to respond to the registration request, then the processes that are waiting are incapable performing work for the transaction. While a CPU failure may not occur often, in a fault-tolerant system, such events must be accounted for. Therefore, the transaction registration protocol is modified to revert to a Full Broadcast transaction protocol and complete any outstanding registration requests. This is accomplished by distributing transactions to all of the CPUs in the system, and in each CPU forcing the completion of registration requests in each CPU.