Resources are partitioned via a virtual partitioning system to distribute
the resources over a plurality of resource servers. A virtual partition
table can be kept at each of a set of resource managers handling requests
for resources in tandem. When a resource is requested, a virtual
partition value is calculated algorithmically, and the value is mapped to
a resource component via the virtual partition table. The resource
component encapsulates information indicating on which of the resource
servers the resource resides and can provide a component for performing
operations on the resource even though the requester does not have
information about where the resource resides. The resources can be
repartitioned by modifying the virtual partition table, thus allowing the
addition of additional resource servers to the system while the resources
remain available. Additional resource types can be added without
reengineering the system.