A method comprising: receiving a connection request from a client (152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166) that requires access to a data set stored in a distributed replication environment; wherein the distributed replication environment includes a plurality of database systems (130, 131, 132, 134), each of which maintains a separate copy of the data set to which the client (152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166) requires access; wherein each of the plurality of database systems (130, 131, 132, 134) includes one or more database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110); in response to the connection request, performing the steps of: selecting a plurality of database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110), from among the database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110) that belong to the plurality of database systems (130, 131, 132, 134), based on one or more selection criteria; and facilitating establishment of a plurality of connections between the client (152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166) and the plurality of selected database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110); wherein the method further comprises: communicating to the client (152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166) an advisory message that recommends to the client (152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166) at least one database server instance (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110) from the selected plurality of database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110) to which the client should send work requests associated with a particular service; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices. receiving a connection request from a client (152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166) that requires access to a data set stored in a distributed replication environment; wherein the distributed replication environment includes a plurality of database systems (130, 131, 132, 134), each of which maintains a separate copy of the data set to which the client (152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166) requires access; wherein each of the plurality of database systems (130, 131, 132, 134) includes one or more database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110); in response to the connection request, performing the steps of: selecting a plurality of database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110), from among the database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110) that belong to the plurality of database systems (130, 131, 132, 134), based on one or more selection criteria; and facilitating establishment of a plurality of connections between the client (152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166) and the plurality of selected database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110); selecting a plurality of database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110), from among the database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110) that belong to the plurality of database systems (130, 131, 132, 134), based on one or more selection criteria; and facilitating establishment of a plurality of connections between the client (152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166) and the plurality of selected database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110); wherein the method further comprises: communicating to the client (152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166) an advisory message that recommends to the client (152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166) at least one database server instance (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110) from the selected plurality of database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110) to which the client should send work requests associated with a particular service; communicating to the client (152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166) an advisory message that recommends to the client (152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166) at least one database server instance (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110) from the selected plurality of database server instances (102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110) to which the client should send work requests associated with a particular service; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.