Methods, computing systems and computer program products implement embodiments of the present invention that include detecting a loss of communication with a given storage node among multiple storage nodes in a distributed computing system. Upon detecting the loss of communication, a log including updates to the data stored in the given storage node is recorded and, the recorded updates can be applied to the given storage node upon communication with the given storage node being reestablished. In some embodiments, the distributed storage system may be configured as a software defined storage system where the storage nodes can be implemented as either virtual machines or software containers. In additional embodiments, upon detecting the loss of communication, a redistribution of the mirrored data among remaining storage nodes is initiated upon detecting the loss of communication, and the redistribution is rolled back upon reestablishing the communication.