A server computer at a first storage sub-system of a distributed storage system receives from a client a first client request for an object. If the object is not present in the first storage sub-system, the server computer identifies a second storage sub-system of the distributed storage system as having a replica of the requested object, the requested object including content and metadata. The server computer submits an object replication request for the requested object to the second storage sub-system and independently receives the content and metadata of the requested object from the second storage sub-system. The server computer generates a new replica of the object at the first storage sub-system using the received metadata and content and returns the metadata of the new replica of the object to the client.