Abstract: A transmission system having a plurality of network elements arranged in a tree-like hierarchical structure, and which includes means for the management and allocation of resources to the network elements. Such a system may be a communication and data transmission network consisting of a plurality of users having distributed databases. In order to enhance the efficiency and transmission speed in such a transmission system, according to the invention network elements which are situated along a resource path (P) store only the course of such resource path, but not the possessors and states of resources in lower hierarchical levels of the system.