The present application provides techniques to interrelate a group of multiple entities. A master entity makes configuration decisions regarding the group of entities and communicates those decisions to the entities. When the master relinquishes the master role, the retiring master selects a new master to accede to the master role. The retiring master releases the master role and ensures that the new master becomes aware of its assignment to the master role. During the time between when the retiring master abdicates and when the new master accedes, the group of entities is temporarily permitted to have no master. The master changes the configuration of the group of entities in a similar way. Using the techniques described herein, a new master may eventually replace the retiring master, and a new configuration may eventually replace the old configuration, without the risk of duplicating or dropping the master role or a configuration change.