Information processing systems are often configured to implement storage systems comprising distributed databases adapted for object storage. A given such distributed database may be configured to utilize bucket-based data structures to store metadata for multiple objects of variable size.
For example, in an Apache Cassandra distributed database, each bucket typically corresponds to a single row of a bucket contents table, and the columns of the table correspond to respective objects associated with that bucket. The row of the table has a particular hash key. Each of the objects has a unique object key that identifies its corresponding column of the table. The table entry for that column contains metadata for the object, with such metadata further characterizing the manner in which the object is stored within the storage system. The object keys of the bucket contents table are generally arranged in sorted order within the single row for the corresponding bucket so as to support rapid access.
Unfortunately, conventional storage system arrangements of this type are problematic in that the bucket contents table size can grow unduly large as the number of objects associated with the bucket increases.