Methods for performing client-hosted application sessions in distributed processing systems

In a distributed processing system including application clients that participate in an application session executed in the distributed processing system, and wherein the application clients include at least a first client that has hosting duties for the application session, and second and third clients also participating in the application session, a method of causing host duties for the application session to migrate from a first client to a second client, the method comprising steps for:

• as part of the application session, storing at each of the application clients a data structure that includes a unique identifier associated with each of the application clients;
• the first client that has been hosting the application session transmitting a host change notification packet to the other clients and then exiting the application session, such that the remaining application clients include at least the second client and the third client;
• as the application session continues, receiving at the remaining second and third clients the host change notification packet sent by the first host client, and then each of the remaining clients applying a predetermined criteria so that one of the second or third clients will select itself for the host duties based on predetermined selection criteria;
• and
• thereafter, causing the host duties to migrate to the selected client.