A solution for reducing transmission pathway lengths within a distributed network, as embodied in various systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media, may include migrating a TCP socket from a request server to a data server. The solution may further include reprogramming one or more routers to recognize a new packet route based on the migrated socket. The solution may include the one or more routers subsequently communicating directly with the data server while bypassing the request server.