1. A database accelerator, for use in a network having a set of at least one client system each running an application which makes database queries via a network to a particular IP address and port combination, and a plurality of database servers each having access to at least a portion of a database, the database accelerator being arranged to: designate a first subset of at least one of the database servers to handle read queries only, and a second subset of at least one of the database servers to handle write queries; receive, through a network port, the database queries made by the set of client systems and directed to the particular IP address and port combination; determine whether each of a plurality of the received queries is a read query or a write query; forward to one or more of the servers in the second subset of servers each of the received queries in the plurality of the received queries which are determined to be write queries, and forward to one or more servers in the first subset of servers at least one of the received queries in the plurality of the received queries which are determined to be read queries.