US Patent 7970861 Load balancing in a distributed computing environment

Systems, methods, and computer storage media for load balancing at a client device in a distributed computing environment based on a dynamic validity duration and utilization metrics of one or more data stores are provided. The client device selects a data store from a plurality of data stores that each maintains a copy of a datum. The selection of data stores by a client is based on utilization metrics of the data stores. The utilization metrics are stored at the client. A data store determines if a request for a particular datum may be fulfilled within a validity period associated with a request from the client. The validity period is dynamically changed by the client across multiple requests to aid in the load balancing process. Additionally, a gossip protocol may be used to propagate utilization metrics of a plurality of data stores across the system.