Patent ID: 8341118

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for replicating objects within a distributed storage system, wherein the distributed storage system includes a plurality of storage sub-systems, comprising: at a first storage sub-system having one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs for execution by the one or more processors, receiving from a client a first client request for an object that is not present in the first storage sub-system; identifying a second storage sub-system as having a replica of the requested object, wherein the requested object includes content and metadata; submitting an object replication request for the requested object to the second storage sub-system, further comprising: receiving metadata of the requested object from a metadata management component of the second storage sub-system, wherein the metadata includes an extents table of the requested object; identifying a location of the object content at the second storage sub-system using the extents table; independently receiving the content and metadata of the requested object from the second storage sub-system; generating a new replica of the object at the first storage sub-system using the received metadata and content; and returning the metadata of the new replica of the object to the client.