A method for providing fault tolerance in a distributed file system of a service provider may include launching at least one data storage node on at least a first virtual machine instance (VMI) running on one or more servers of the service provider and storing file data. At least one data management node may be launched on at least a second VMI running on the one or more servers of the service provider. The at least second VMI may be associated with a dedicated IP address and the at least one data management node may store metadata information associated with the file data in a network storage attached to the at least second VMI. Upon detecting a failure of the at least second VMI, the at least one data management node may be re-launched on at least a third VMI running on the one or more servers.