A first compute node of a plurality of compute nodes of a database cluster may receive a request for a database transaction from a client application. The client application may be located within the first compute node. A first connection may be established, without regard to whether another compute node has a lighter workload than the first compute node, between the client application and a first database of the database cluster. The first connection may be a local connection, wherein the first database is located within the first compute node. The first compute node may detect that a failure associated with the first database has occurred. The first compute node may execute a failover operation to continue servicing the request for the data. The executing of a failover operation may include establishing a second connection between the client application and a second database of the database cluster.