A network architecture with load balancing, fault tolerance and distributed querying comprises a plurality of front-end servers, a plurality of back-end servers, and a database. The front-end servers are coupled to a network to receive data requests from client devices. The front-end servers are each coupled to the plurality of back-end servers. The front-end servers handle data requests at a macro level and divide the request into sub-requests that are sent to the plurality of back-end servers. The back-end servers are coupled to the database to retrieve data. Each data request is distributed across the plurality of back-end servers according to workload. The front-end servers are fault tolerant in that they can respond to a request for data without all of the back-end servers being responsive or providing data. The present invention also includes a plurality of methods including: a method for distributed querying, a method for loading data sets from a database, and a method for responding to a query that provides fault tolerance.