Proactive load balancer for data storage system

A method of operating a proactive load balancer within a data storage network comprising:

• sending a current load query from the proactive load balancer to:
• a first node including:
• one or more servers, each connected to a data storage resource;
• and
• a first load-balancing agent;
• a second node including:
• one or more servers, each connected to a data storage resource;
• and
• a second load-balancing agent;
• receiving a response from the first load-balancing agent including a first node performance metric and from the second load-balancing agent including a second node performance metric;
• receiving an access request from a client at the proactive load balancer for the data storage network;
• and
• directing the access request to a specific one or more of the servers connected to the first node and the second node based on the received first node performance metric and the second node performance metric, wherein the first node performance metric includes one or more current load metrics specific to each of the servers connected to the first node and the second node performance metric includes one or more current load metrics specific to each of the servers connected to the second node.

One or more computer-readable storage media encoding computer-executable instructions for executing on a computer system a computer process for operating a proactive load balancer within a data storage network, the computer process comprising:

• sending a current load query from the proactive load balancer to:
• a first node including:
• one or more servers, each connected to a data storage resource;
• and
• a first load-balancing agent;
• a second node including:
• one or more servers, each connected to a data storage resource;
• and
• a second load-balancing agent;
• receiving a response from the first load-balancing agent including a first node performance metric and from the second load-balancing agent including a second node performance metric;
• receiving an access request from a client at the proactive load balancer for the data storage network;
• and
• directing the access request to a specific one or more of the servers connected to the first node and the second node based on the received first node performance metric and the second node performance metric, wherein the first node performance metric includes one or more current load metrics specific to each of the servers connected to the first node and the second node performance metric includes one or more current load metrics specific to each of the servers connected to the second node.