An IP address that a high availability (HA) system uses to communicate with the external system. The active server and standby server have separate IP addresses. For example, the IP address of the active server is IP 1.1.1.1 and the IP address of the standby server is IP 2.2.2.2. When communicating with the external client, the active or standby server uses IP 3.3.3.3 and this IP is bound to the network adapter of the active server. At this time, the active server has two IP addresses, namely IP1 and IP3. The standby server has only 2.2.2.2, therefore, it does not provide services to the external client. When an active/standby switchover occurs, the active server releases 3.3.3.3 and this IP is bound to the network adapter of the standby server.