In clusters of multiprocessor systems it is important that these processor nodes are aware of each others availability and performance capabilities. In highly available systems using these multiprocessor systems there needs to be a method to dynamically bring nodes both into the cluster and to remove nodes out of the cluster. The processor node that is responsible for these actions is designated the manager node (50). The manager node has a pre-selected backup to assume this responsibility upon the inability of said manager node to fulfill its duties. To allow the cluster of nodes to communicate with each other efficiently there needs to be a distributed messaging system that allows for the rapid distribution of data messages among the cluster nodes.