The invention provides a storage 
system, and a method for operating a storage 
system, that provides for relatively rapid and reliable takeover among a plurality of independent file servers. Each 
file server maintains a reliable communication path to the others. Each 
file server maintains its own state in reliable memory. Each 
file server regularly confirms the state of the other file servers. Each file 
server labels messages on the redundant communication paths, so as to allow other file servers to combine the redundant communication paths into a single ordered 
stream of messages. Each file 
server maintains its own state in its persistent memory and compares that state with the ordered 
stream of messages, so as to determine whether other file servers have progressed beyond the file 
server's own last known state. Each file server uses the shared resources (such as 
magnetic disks) themselves as part of the redundant communication paths, so as to prevent mutual attempts at takeover of resources when each file server believes the other to have failed. Each file server provides a 
status report to the others when recovering from an error, so as to prevent the possibility of multiple file servers each repeatedly failing and attempting to seize the resources of the others.