A distributed multi-layer cache in a distributed storage system is described, where the storage controller functions of the distributed storage system are separated from that of distributed storage system storage media. In an exemplary embodiment, a storage controller server determines if an object is in a cache that stores a plurality of objects. In addition, the distributed storage system includes the cache and a distributed object layer for persistently storing the plurality of objects. The cache further includes a de-duplicated cache layer. The storage controller server accesses the object from the cache if the object is in the cache and accesses the object from the distributed object layer if the object is not in the cache.