A system for effecting recovery of a network involving a plurality of computing apparatuses with each respective computing apparatus hosting at least one respective service, includes: (a) at least one control unit substantially embodied in hardware and coupled with each computing apparatus; and (b) at least one control program substantially embodied in software and distributed among at least one of the computing apparatuses. The system responds to a computing apparatus becoming inoperative by effecting a recovery operation. The recovery operation includes distributing the services hosted by the inoperative computing apparatus as distributed services among operating computing apparatuses and returning the distributed services to the inoperative computing apparatus after the inoperative computing apparatus becomes operative. The at least one control unit and the at least one control program cooperate to effect the recovery operation.