Abstract: A system for monitoring life-and-death states of a plurality information processing apparatuses connected by a communication network, has life-and-death monitoring databases managing the life-and-death states of the information processing apparatuses for each particular group of groups to which the plurality of information processing apparatuses to be monitored are grouped; and a part of transferring in sequence, among the groups, by means of information transmission among the adjacent information processing apparatuses, information indicating the life-and-death states of the information processing apparatuses managed by the life-and-death monitoring databases.