Patent attributes
A storage command is received that is directed to a distributed storage system. Based on the storage command, a metadata update is targeted to a logical block address of metadata storage of the distributed storage system. The metadata update includes a chunk of metadata that is smaller than a block addressed by the logical block address. An atomic write command is sent to a block device interface. The command includes the chunk of metadata, the logical block address, and an offset within the block defining where the chunk of metadata is to be stored. Via the block device interface, the atomic write command is stored in a non-volatile buffer that has faster performance than the metadata storage. The chunk of metadata of the atomic write command is written from the non-volatile buffer to the block in the metadata storage via a background process using an atomic read-modify-write command.