A data storage system includes: a plurality of data storage devices for storing a plurality of objects of a key-value pair; and a virtual storage layer that applies different data reliability schemes including a data replication scheme and an erasure coding scheme based on a size of an object of the plurality of objects. The plurality of objects includes a first object having a first size and a second object having a second size that is larger than the first size. The virtual storage layer classifies the first object as a small object, applies the data replication scheme, and stores the small object across one or more of the plurality of data storage devices. The virtual storage layer classifies the second object as a huge object, splits the huge object into one or more chunks of a same size, applies the erasure encoding scheme, and distributedly stores the one or more chunks across the plurality of data storage devices.