Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to selecting and identifying a primary controller server among a group of servers on a network. In order to do so, a first computer may set a first number to zero when a storage system associated with the first computer is initialized. The first computer may conduct an election protocol to select a primary controller computer from a plurality of computers. After selecting the primary computer, increase the first number by a given value and send it to the selected primary computer. The selected primary computer may set a second number corresponding to an absolute time when the storage system associated with the first computer is initialized. The selected primary computer may receive the first number from the first computer. The selected primary computer may send the numbers to a client device. After sending, the primary computer may establish a connection with the client.