A resource management system is composed of a plurality of application programs, a resource management information database, and a resource manager. Each application program executes data transfer using resources. The resource management database stores resource management information and key information for each resource. Upon receipt of a resource use request from an application program, the resource manager judges whether the requested resource can be allocated to the application program by referring to the resource capacity and the currently-allocated volume of the resource that are included in the information database. If judging that the requested resource can be allocated, the resource manager gives authorization to the application program to use the resource. The resource manager also controls resource allocation by restricting a data transfer bandwidth used by an application program and requesting a resource release on expiration of the valid time period.