Distributing requests for data among servers based on indicators of intent to access the data

A method comprising:

• transmitting, by a software application executing on a client device, a message to a kernel of the client device indicating an intention of the software application to access data at a future point in time, wherein the message includes an fadvise command indicating the data and a data-access pattern, and wherein the software application transmits the message to the kernel prior to requesting the data from the kernel;
• receiving, by the kernel of the client device, the message from the software application;
• in response to receiving the message and prior to the software application requesting the data:
• detecting, by the kernel, the fadvise command in the message;
• based on detecting the fadvise command in the message, transmitting, by the kernel, a plurality of electronic communications to a plurality of servers, the plurality of electronic communications indicating the data that the software application intends to access at the future point in time;
• receiving, by the kernel, a response to an electronic communication among the plurality of electronic communications from a server of the plurality of servers, the server being configured to (i) determine a capability of the server to handle a future request for the data and (ii) generate the response to the electronic communication based on the determined capability;
• based on the response, selecting, by the kernel, the server from among the plurality of servers as a destination from which to obtain the data in order to respond to the future request for the data from the software application;
• and
• based on selecting the server, storing, by the kernel, an association between the server and the data in a database;
• and
• subsequent to storing the association in the database:
• receiving, by the kernel, a request for the data from the software application;
• retrieving, by the kernel, the data from the server based on the association between the server and the data in the database;
• and
• providing, by the kernel, the data back to the software application.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for a kernel, the kernel being executable by a processing device for causing the processing device to:

• receive a message from a software application indicating an intention of the software application to access data at a future point in time, wherein the message includes an fadvise command indicating the data and a data-access pattern, and wherein the message is received from the software application prior to the software application requesting the data from the kernel;
• in response to receiving the message and prior to the software application requesting the data:
• detect the fadvise command in the message:
• based on detecting the fadvise command in the message, transmit a plurality of electronic communications to a plurality of servers, the plurality of electronic communications indicating the data that the software application intends to access at the future point in time;
• receive a response to an electronic communication among the plurality of electronic communications from a server among the plurality of servers, the server being configured to (i) determine a capability of the server to handle a future request for the data and (ii) generate the response to the electronic communication based on the determined capability;
• and
• based on the response, select the server from among the plurality of servers as a destination from which to obtain the data in order to respond to the future request for the data from the software application;
• and
• based on selecting the server, store an association between the server and the data in a database;
• and
• subsequent to storing the association in the database:
• receive a request for the data from the software application;
• retrieve the data from the server based on the association between the server and the data in the database;
• and
• provide the data back to the software application.