Methods and systems for managing a multi-tiered computer infrastructure.
The infrastructure includes a plurality of functional layers, wherein one
of the layers is a resource allocation layer. Each functional layer
includes a set of resources that are substantially interchangeable with
other resources in the same layer and adapted to be able to operate with
any resource in an adjacent layer. The resource allocation layer receives
and manages information regarding the status of the resources and
allocates the resources to a task in accordance with utilization levels
and operability of any particular resource.