A method performed by a first hardware element in a hierarchical arrangement of hardware elements in an object storage system is described. The method includes performing a hash on a name of an object of the object storage system. The name is part of a request that is associated with the object. A result of the hash is to identify a second hardware element directly beneath the first hardware element in the hierarchical arrangement. The request is to be sent to the second hardware element to advance the request toward being serviced by the object storage system.