Servers are allocated for use in one of a plurality of compute-resources or for stand-by storage in a free-pool. Server load metrics are selected (e.g., ping-reply time or CP utilization) for measuring load in the servers. Metrics are measured for the servers allocated to the compute-resources. Several metrics can be measured simultaneously. The metrics for each compute-resource are normalized and averaged. Then, the metrics for each compute-resource are combined using weighting coefficients, producing a global load value, G, for each compute-resource. The G value is recalculated at timed intervals. Upper and lower thresholds are set for each compute-resource, and the G values are compared to the thresholds. If the G value exceeds the upper threshold, then a server in the free-pool is reallocated to the compute-resource; if the G value is less than the lower threshold, then a server is moved from the compute-resource to the free-pool.