Apparatus and Method for Managing IP Address in a Distributed Computing Environment

An apparatus for managing IP addresses among a cluster of nodes in a distributed computing environment, comprising:

• a management agent residing at each node in a cluster of nodes, implemented with one or more processors, coupled to a memory and a network interface, wherein the management agent is configured to:
• gather broadcast information of peer nodes;
• identify one or more nodes without an overlay IP address using the broadcast information gathered about its peer nodes;
• elect a candidate node among the one or more nodes without an overlay IP address using the broadcast information gathered about its peer nodes;
• assign a next available overlay IP address to the candidate node;
• and
• communicate, among the cluster of nodes, in accordance with the assigned overlay IP address of the candidate node.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions to configure a processor to:

• gather broadcast information of peer nodes;
• identify one or more nodes without an overlay IP address using the broadcast information gathered about its peer nodes;
• elect a candidate node among the one or more nodes without an overlay IP address using the broadcast information gathered about its peer nodes;
• assign a next available overlay IP address to the candidate node;
• and
• communicate in accordance with the assigned overlay IP address of the candidate node.