A method of distributing data in a distributed storage system includes receiving a file into non-transitory memory and dividing the received file into chunks using a computer processor in communication with the non-transitory memory. The method also includes distributing chunks to storage devices of the distributed storage system based on a maintenance hierarchy of the distributed storage system. The maintenance hierarchy includes maintenance units each having active and inactive states. Moreover, each storage device is associated with a maintenance unit. The chunks are distributed across multiple maintenance units to maintain accessibility of the file when a maintenance unit is in an inactive state.