Abstract: In a network composed of communicating resources, the status of an aggregate resource may be determined by calculations based upon the status assumed by the real resources contained within the aggregate rather than being determined directly. The status of real resources may be propagated to still higher aggregate resources whose own status is based upon the status of the real resources contained within it. An aggregate resource may have multiple potential statuses and a decision as to which status to report for an aggregate resource at a given time is calculated based upon the status of the underlying real resources which it contains. Each real resource has associated with it another parameter which is its aggregation priority value indicating to what degree a change in its status will affect higher level nodes or aggregates in a network hierarchy.