A system that implements a scalable data storage service may maintain tables in a non-relational data store on behalf of clients. The system may provide a Web services interface through which service requests are received, and an API usable to request that a table be created, deleted, or described; that an item be stored, retrieved, deleted, or its attributes modified; or that a table be queried (or scanned) with filtered items and/or their attributes returned. An asynchronous workflow may be invoked to create or delete a table. Items stored in tables may be partitioned and indexed using a simple or composite primary key. The system may not impose pre-defined limits on table size, and may employ a flexible schema. The service may provide a best-effort or committed throughput model. The system may automatically scale and/or re-partition tables in response to detecting workload changes, node failures, or other conditions or anomalies.