A distributed object storage system for storing fixed-content data, wherein the distributed object storage system is a Redundant Array of Independent Nodes, RAIN, type storage system including a source system and an external storage system, the source system networked together with the external storage system which is a target system to replicate one or more objects among the storage systems in a replicated environment, wherein the source system comprises a plurality of objects, each object having fixed-content data and metadata which includes system metadata, wherein the fixed-content data is non-mutable digital content; and the distributed object storage system comprises a controller configured to replicate an object of the plurality of objects to the target system and configured to execute a service plan against objects of the source system; characterized in that the system is configured to create a service plan for separating data and metadata and to assign it to the objects, the service plan being configured to govern writing of the fixed-content data and metadata of the objects from the source system to the external storage system, wherein the service plan is set up based on an attribute of the system metadata of the object to be replicated, the attribute including the following criteria: the content has not been accessed for a certain amount of time; wherein the system is further configured to periodically run a storage tiering service to execute the created service plan against the objects, and wherein when the service plan with a metadata-only configuration is defined for the object on the source system, on a storage tiering service run after T1 time has elapsed after the ingest of the object, the controller is configured to: verify that the object is replicated to the target system in the replicated environment, verify that on the target system, content data of the object is safely stored and is not requested to be stored as metadata only on the target system, and if both conditions are met, the content data for the object is marked for removal and deleted from the source system and the location of the data portion on the target system is recorded on the source system so that after the service plan completion, the source system will have metadata only stored locally with the data portion and metadata stored on the target system; wherein a service plan defined for the target system may have the metadata-only configuration, after completion of which the target system will have metadata only stored locally. the source system comprises a plurality of objects, each object having fixed-content data and metadata which includes system metadata, wherein the fixed-content data is non-mutable digital content; and the distributed object storage system comprises a controller configured to replicate an object of the plurality of objects to the target system and configured to execute a service plan against objects of the source system; verify that the object is replicated to the target system in the replicated environment, verify that on the target system, content data of the object is safely stored and is not requested to be stored as metadata only on the target system, and <EOS>