A resource-node of a peer-to-peer (P2P) network adapted to manage the allocation of resources to channel swarms. Resource allocation is based on a distributed algorithm in which resource-nodes of the P2P network occasionally join and leave channel-swarms. Each resource-node independently decides whether or not to stay in the channel-swarm that it has joined to. These decisions are based on values of a transience parameter set by a transience mechanism of the resource-node.