Abstract: A task generator runs on a data storage system in which multiple compute nodes allocate portions of local memory to a remotely accessible shared memory. The task generator is responsive to a primary task to be performed on a storage object to generate separate, per-compute node secondary tasks corresponding to the primary task. Each of the separate secondary tasks specifies at least one attribute of metadata associated with the storage object and at least one task logic function. Each of the plurality of compute nodes performs the separate secondary task generated for that compute node by scanning the local portion of the shared memory based on the attribute to identify matching pages of the metadata associated with the storage object and performs the task logic function on the identified matching pages of the metadata associated with the storage object to generate a local result. The task generator combines the local results to perform the primary task.