1. A system for computation, the system comprising: a combination hardware/software platform, the hardware portion of the platform including a first network interface card (NIC), a processor, a memory, a computer-readable storage medium, and a power controller; the software portion of the platform including a hypervisor, associated with a plurality of logical containers, each logical container including a virtual interface, wherein each logical container is operable to host an operating environment; wherein each logical container and each operating environment can be in one of a plurality of states, including an active state, an inactive state, and an unallocated state; and wherein the hypervisor, the logical containers, and the operating environments can be manipulated by a sequence of computer-readable instructions; wherein, responsive to a first message received at the first NIC, the first message identifying a first virtual interface associated with a first operating environment, the platform is operable to determine a message type of the first message and evaluate whether the identified first operating environment is active; and take action thereon, wherein when the message type indicates that the identified first operating environment should be in an inactive state, using the processor to execute a sequence of computer-readable instructions that, when executed, when the first operating environment is active, place the first operating environment into the inactive state; and wherein, responsive to a second message received at the first NIC, the second message identifying the first virtual interface associated with the first operating environment, the platform is operable to determine a message type of the second message and evaluate whether the identified first operating environment is in the inactive state; and take action thereon, wherein when the message type indicates the first operating environment should be transferred from a first information processing system (IPS) to a second IPS on the platform, using the processor to execute a sequence of computer-readable instructions that, when executed, when the first operating environment is in the inactive state, transfer the first operating environment from the first IPS to the second IPS.