diff --git a/node-express/allocator.js b/node-express/allocator.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b7efed2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/node-express/allocator.js
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+class Allocator {
+
+  constructor() {
+  
+  }
+
+  // given a server type ('API', 'DB', etc) allocate a new server and
+  // return the name of the server (e.g. 'API1', 'API2', 'DB5')
+  allocate(serverType) {
+
+  }
+
+  // given a server name, remove the server from the pool
+  deallocate(serverName) {
+    
+  }
+
+}
+
+module.exports = Allocator;
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/node-express/index.js b/node-express/index.js
index df0b9fe..2ccffa2 100644
--- a/node-express/index.js
+++ b/node-express/index.js
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ const express = require('express');
 const app = express();
 const port = 3000;
 
+const Allocator = require('./allocator');
+
 app.get('/', (req, res) => res.send('Hello World!'));
 
 app.listen(port, () => console.log(`Example app listening on port ${port}!`));
\ No newline at end of file