diff --git a/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/data/NodeObject.java b/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/data/NodeObject.java
index c85514240..47ab29afc 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/data/NodeObject.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/data/NodeObject.java
@@ -53,6 +53,10 @@ public class NodeObject extends DObject
     @Generated(value={"com.threerings.presents.tools.GenDObjectTask"})
     public static final String CLIENTS = "clients";
 
+    /** The field name of the <code>nodeProxies</code> field. */
+    @Generated(value={"com.threerings.presents.tools.GenDObjectTask"})
+    public static final String NODE_PROXIES = "nodeProxies";
+
     /** The field name of the <code>locks</code> field. */
     @Generated(value={"com.threerings.presents.tools.GenDObjectTask"})
     public static final String LOCKS = "locks";
@@ -152,6 +156,9 @@ public class NodeObject extends DObject
     /** Contains information on all clients connected to this node. */
     public DSet<ClientInfo> clients = new DSet<ClientInfo>();
 
+    /** Contains information on all node objects proxied by this node. */
+    public DSet<NodeProxyInfo> nodeProxies = new DSet<NodeProxyInfo>();
+
     /** The set of locks held by this node. */
     public DSet<Lock> locks = new DSet<Lock>();
 
@@ -267,6 +274,57 @@ public class NodeObject extends DObject
         this.clients = clone;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Requests that the specified entry be added to the
+     * <code>nodeProxies</code> set. The set will not change until the event is
+     * actually propagated through the system.
+     */
+    @Generated(value={"com.threerings.presents.tools.GenDObjectTask"})
+    public void addToNodeProxies (NodeProxyInfo elem)
+    {
+        requestEntryAdd(NODE_PROXIES, nodeProxies, elem);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Requests that the entry matching the supplied key be removed from
+     * the <code>nodeProxies</code> set. The set will not change until the
+     * event is actually propagated through the system.
+     */
+    @Generated(value={"com.threerings.presents.tools.GenDObjectTask"})
+    public void removeFromNodeProxies (Comparable<?> key)
+    {
+        requestEntryRemove(NODE_PROXIES, nodeProxies, key);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Requests that the specified entry be updated in the
+     * <code>nodeProxies</code> set. The set will not change until the event is
+     * actually propagated through the system.
+     */
+    @Generated(value={"com.threerings.presents.tools.GenDObjectTask"})
+    public void updateNodeProxies (NodeProxyInfo elem)
+    {
+        requestEntryUpdate(NODE_PROXIES, nodeProxies, elem);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Requests that the <code>nodeProxies</code> field be set to the
+     * specified value. Generally one only adds, updates and removes
+     * entries of a distributed set, but certain situations call for a
+     * complete replacement of the set value. The local value will be
+     * updated immediately and an event will be propagated through the
+     * system to notify all listeners that the attribute did
+     * change. Proxied copies of this object (on clients) will apply the
+     * value change when they received the attribute changed notification.
+     */
+    @Generated(value={"com.threerings.presents.tools.GenDObjectTask"})
+    public void setNodeProxies (DSet<NodeProxyInfo> value)
+    {
+        requestAttributeChange(NODE_PROXIES, value, this.nodeProxies);
+        DSet<NodeProxyInfo> clone = (value == null) ? null : value.clone();
+        this.nodeProxies = clone;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Requests that the specified entry be added to the
      * <code>locks</code> set. The set will not change until the event is
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/data/NodeProxyInfo.java b/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/data/NodeProxyInfo.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2b2a5f11d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/data/NodeProxyInfo.java
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+//
+// $Id$
+//
+// Narya library - tools for developing networked games
+// Copyright (C) 2002-2011 Three Rings Design, Inc., All Rights Reserved
+// http://code.google.com/p/narya/
+//
+// This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+// under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published
+// by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+// Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+// License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+// Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
+
+package com.threerings.presents.peer.data;
+
+import com.threerings.io.SimpleStreamableObject;
+
+import com.threerings.presents.dobj.DSet;
+
+/**
+ * Contains information about a proxied {@link NodeObject}.
+ */
+public class NodeProxyInfo extends SimpleStreamableObject
+    implements DSet.Entry
+{
+    /** The name of the node. */
+    public String nodeName;
+
+    /** The oid of the proxied object. */
+    public int nodeOid;
+
+    // documentation inherited from interface DSet.Entry
+    public Comparable<?> getKey ()
+    {
+        return nodeName;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/PeerManager.java b/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/PeerManager.java
index 770d2d96c..d18bae748 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/PeerManager.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/PeerManager.java
@@ -338,6 +338,14 @@ public abstract class PeerManager
         didInit();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Sets the strategy used to determine relationships between peers.
+     */
+    public void setRelationshipStrategy (RelationshipStrategy strategy)
+    {
+        _relationshipStrategy = strategy;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Returns true if the supplied peer credentials match our shared secret.
      */
@@ -568,7 +576,7 @@ public abstract class PeerManager
     public <T extends DObject> void proxyRemoteObject (
         final DObjectAddress remote, final ResultListener<Integer> listener)
     {
-     if (remote.nodeName.equals(_nodeName)) {
+        if (remote.nodeName.equals(_nodeName)) {
             _omgr.postRunnable(new Runnable() {
                 public void run () {
                     listener.requestCompleted(remote.oid);
@@ -1066,6 +1074,7 @@ public abstract class PeerManager
             }
             @Override
             public void handleSuccess () {
+                _relationshipStrategy.determineRelationships(_nodes, _nodeName);
                 for (NodeRecord record : _nodes) {
                     if (record.nodeName.equals(_nodeName)) {
                         continue;
@@ -1594,6 +1603,9 @@ public abstract class PeerManager
         }
     };
 
+    /** The strategy used to determine this peer's relationship to others. */
+    protected RelationshipStrategy _relationshipStrategy = RelationshipStrategy.FULLY_CONNECTED;
+
     protected String _nodeName, _sharedSecret;
     protected NodeRecord _self;
     protected NodeObject _nodeobj;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/PeerNode.java b/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/PeerNode.java
index 3f9e86bb6..6f9f335ea 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/PeerNode.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/PeerNode.java
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ import com.threerings.presents.peer.data.ClientInfo;
 import com.threerings.presents.peer.data.NodeObject;
 import com.threerings.presents.peer.net.PeerBootstrapData;
 import com.threerings.presents.peer.server.persist.NodeRecord;
+import com.threerings.presents.peer.server.persist.NodeRecord.Relationship;
 import com.threerings.presents.server.PresentsDObjectMgr;
 import com.threerings.presents.server.net.PresentsConnectionManager;
 import com.threerings.presents.server.net.ServerCommunicator;
@@ -128,16 +129,17 @@ public class PeerNode
 
     public void refresh (NodeRecord record)
     {
-        // if the hostname of this node changed, kill our existing client and connect anew
-        if (!record.hostName.equals(_record.hostName) && _client.isActive()) {
+        // if the hostname of this node changed or we have an indirect relationship, log off
+        if ((!record.hostName.equals(_record.hostName) ||
+                record.relationship == Relationship.INDIRECT) && _client.isActive()) {
             _client.logoff(false);
         }
 
         // use our new record
         _record = record;
 
-        // if our client is active, we're groovy
-        if (_client.isActive()) {
+        // if our client is active or needn't be, we're groovy
+        if (_client.isActive() || record.relationship == Relationship.INDIRECT) {
             return;
         }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/RelationshipStrategy.java b/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/RelationshipStrategy.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d7d34af97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/RelationshipStrategy.java
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+//
+// $Id$
+//
+// Narya library - tools for developing networked games
+// Copyright (C) 2002-2011 Three Rings Design, Inc., All Rights Reserved
+// http://code.google.com/p/narya/
+//
+// This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+// under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published
+// by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+// Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+// License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+// Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
+
+package com.threerings.presents.peer.server;
+
+import java.util.List;
+
+import com.threerings.presents.peer.server.persist.NodeRecord;
+import com.threerings.presents.peer.server.persist.NodeRecord.Relationship;
+
+/**
+ * Used to determine the relationships between the local node and all others.
+ */
+public interface RelationshipStrategy
+{
+    /** A strategy in which all nodes are directly connected to one another. */
+    public static final RelationshipStrategy FULLY_CONNECTED = new RelationshipStrategy() {
+        public void determineRelationships (List<NodeRecord> nodes, String localNode) {
+            for (NodeRecord node : nodes) {
+                node.relationship = Relationship.DIRECT_EQUAL;
+            }
+        }
+    };
+
+    /** A strategy in which all child nodes connect to a single parent. */
+    public static final RelationshipStrategy SINGLE_PARENT = new RelationshipStrategy() {
+        public void determineRelationships (List<NodeRecord> nodes, String localNode) {
+            String parentNode = localNode;
+            for (NodeRecord node : nodes) {
+                if (node.nodeName.compareTo(parentNode) < 0) {
+                    parentNode = node.nodeName;
+                }
+            }
+            boolean amParent = localNode.equals(parentNode);
+            for (NodeRecord node : nodes) {
+                node.relationship = amParent ? Relationship.CHILD :
+                    (node.nodeName.equals(parentNode) ?
+                        Relationship.PARENT : Relationship.INDIRECT);
+            }
+        }
+    };
+
+    /**
+     * Determines the relationships between this node and all others.
+     */
+    public void determineRelationships (List<NodeRecord> nodes, String localNode);
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/persist/NodeRecord.java b/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/persist/NodeRecord.java
index 572fd9164..ba20f8cd9 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/persist/NodeRecord.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/threerings/presents/peer/server/persist/NodeRecord.java
@@ -38,6 +38,9 @@ import com.samskivert.depot.expression.ColumnExp;
 @Entity(name="NODES")
 public class NodeRecord extends PersistentRecord
 {
+    /** The types of relationships between nodes. */
+    public enum Relationship { PARENT, CHILD, DIRECT_EQUAL, INDIRECT };
+
     // AUTO-GENERATED: FIELDS START
     public static final Class<NodeRecord> _R = NodeRecord.class;
     public static final ColumnExp<String> NODE_NAME = colexp(_R, "nodeName");
@@ -72,6 +75,9 @@ public class NodeRecord extends PersistentRecord
     @Column(name="LAST_UPDATED")
     public Timestamp lastUpdated;
 
+    /** The relationship of the local node to the node described. */
+    public transient Relationship relationship;
+
     /** Used to create a blank instance when loading from the database. */
     public NodeRecord ()
     {