Management of node membership in a distributed system

An apparatus, comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• access the memory and to execute program code to determine that a node group universally unique identifier has not been assigned to a computing node;
• in response to the determination, to transition into a first state awaiting an invitation relating to forming or joining a node group while in the first state;
• transition into a second state in response to receiving the invitation to form or join the node group and to await an assignment of the node group universally unique identifier while in the second state;
• transition into a third state in response to receiving the node group universally unique identifier and to locate a plurality of neighboring nodes while operating in the third state;
• and
• determine whether a quorum of nodes including the plurality of neighboring nodes is present.

A program product, comprising:

• program code configured to execute program code to determine that a node group universally unique identifier has not been assigned to a computing node;
• in response to the determination;
• to transition into a first state awaiting an invitation relating to forming or joining a node group while in the first state;
• to transition into a second state in response to receiving the invitation to form or join the node group and to await an assignment of the node group universally unique identifier while in the second state;
• to transition into a third state in response to receiving the node group universally unique identifier and to locate a plurality of neighboring nodes while operating in the third state, and to determine whether a quorum of nodes including the neighboring nodes is present;
• and
• a computer readable medium bearing the program code.