A method for obtaining exclusive access to a computing resource utilizing a network is disclosed. A discovery request is sent by a sending node within a network segment to one or more recipient nodes within the network segment. The discovery request is configured to determine whether each recipient node is accessing a specified computing resource. One or more replies to their request or an absence of replies from the recipient nodes are analyzed to determine whether any of the recipient nodes are accessing the specified computing resource. If the replies or the absence of replies indicate that none of the recipient nodes are accessing the specified resource, exclusive access is obtained on usage of the specified computing resource by the sending node.