1. A computer-implemented method for allocating one or more resources to a request in a distributed environment in which a computer system performs operations comprising: receiving the request from a first requester, the first requester currently engaged in a communications session with a third party, the request comprising a request to identify one or more potential resources to be made available to the third party during a temporary halt of the communications session, the one or more potential resources comprising at least one segment of music data to be played to the third party, wherein the at least one segment of music data is played to the third party in accordance with a call control application associated with the first requester; identifying one or more resources to handle said request; obtaining a network connection assessment between one or more requesters associated with said request and each of said plurality of potential resources, wherein each of said plurality resources is at least one of a source and a destination for a corresponding one of said network connections, wherein said network connection assessment is performed by a resource allocation service which maintains state of its own service classes and service classes for other resource allocation servers in said system, wherein said resource allocation server obtains said state of service classes in other resource allocation servers from a service class summary record by way of a publish/subscribe mechanism; and assigning at least one of said plurality of potential resources to said request based on said network connection assessment, wherein assigning includes: prior to a communications device associated with the third party sensing the temporary halt of the communications session, transmitting an instruction to the communications device, wherein the instruction comprises a command to connect with at least one of said plurality of potential resources assigned to said request, wherein the step of transmitting the instruction is done via the call control application associated with the first requester.