In accordance with some embodiments, a computational machine having one or more processors, a local cache and memory receives from a first machine a data request that is used to request specific data. The computational machine determines whether the computational machine stores the specific data in the local cache. In accordance with a determination that the computational machine does not store the specific data in the local cache, the computational machine responds to the data request by passing the data request to a second machine and returning the specific data to the first machine when the second machine returns the specific data to the computational machine. Additionally, the computational machine determines whether to store the returned specific data in the local cache according to a data caching method.