A request to obtain an identified content item is received. It is determined that the identified content item is stored in a plurality of locations. It is determined to obtain the identified content item from a first storage location storing a first serialized representation of a file system snapshot that includes the identified content item and a second storage location storing a second serialized representation of the file system snapshot that includes the identified content item based on available resources associated with the plurality of locations. The identified content item is extracted from the first serialized representation at the first storage location and from the second serialized representation at the second storage location including building a stubbed tree data structure using the first serialized representation and the second serialized representation. The extracted identified content item is provided using the stubbed tree data structure.