A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes, for each of a plurality of individual storage units collectively comprising a virtual storage unit, mapping an internal address of the storage unit to a unique IP address, wherein each of the storage units comprises a block of storage on one of a plurality of physical storage devices and wherein the IP address includes a virtual storage unit number identifying the virtual storage unit; receiving from a client a request to perform an operation on at least one of the data storage units, wherein the request identifies the internal address of the at least one of the data storage units; translating the internal address of the at least one of the data storage unit to the unique IP address of the at least one of the data storage units; and performing the requested operation on the at least one of the data storage units.