The use of electronic devices has become increasingly prevalent in modern society. As the cost of electronic devices has declined and as the usefulness of electronic devices has increased, people are using them for a wide variety of purposes. For example, many people use electronic devices to perform work tasks as well as to seek entertainment. One type of an electronic device is a computer.
Computer technologies continue to advance at a rapid pace. Computers commonly used include everything from hand-held computing devices to large multi-processor computer systems. These computers include software, such as applications including user interfaces, in order to make them useful and accessible to an end user. Computers are increasingly linked with other computers through networks. With the expansion of computer technology, the size of networks has continued to increase. Networks may link computers together that are a great distance apart.
One of the challenges involved with networks is providing services. One or more computing devices in a network may be configured to provide a service in a network segment. Traditionally, a network administrator must configure each of these computing devices individually for this task. However, this may be burdensome for an administrator. Furthermore, problems may occur when services are duplicated or when a computing device providing a service fails or goes offline. As can be observed from this discussion, systems and methods that provide self-electing service between peer computing devices on a network may be beneficial to the operation and management of a computer network.