A distributed topology system may include a distributed topology engine configured to run on a server device and define a topology consisting of one or more building blocks. Each building block may represent one or more tasks pertaining to an application. The system may also include a distributed topology application configured to run on a client device and automatically execute one or more of the building blocks. A distributed topology database may be used to store the topology. A pause/resume module may be configured to pause at least one task responsive to a pause request. The pause/resume module may also be configured to resume a previously paused task.