1. An application docking station suitable for use in a communication network, comprising: a monitor to detect an anomaly state of the application server; and an anomaly handler to process application server messages on behalf of the application server responsive to the monitor detecting the anomaly state; wherein the anomaly state is indicative of a condition selected from the group consisting of unexpected messaging activity associated with the application server and an unexpected status of a heartbeat associated with the application server wherein the heartbeat status is indicative of whether the application server is operable.