diff --git a/config/galaxy.yml.sample b/config/galaxy.yml.sample
index 3c7335e75f9..408f2574bd5 100644
--- a/config/galaxy.yml.sample
+++ b/config/galaxy.yml.sample
@@ -528,6 +528,11 @@ galaxy:
   # it overrides any other objectstore settings.
   #object_store_config_file: config/object_store_conf.xml
 
+  # What Dataset attribute is used to reference files in an ObjectStore
+  # implementation, default is 'id' but can also be set to 'uuid' for
+  # more de-centralized usage.
+  #object_store_store_by: id
+
   # Galaxy sends mail for various things: subscribing users to the
   # mailing list if they request it, password resets, reporting dataset
   # errors, and sending activation emails. To do this, it needs to send
diff --git a/doc/source/admin/galaxy_options.rst b/doc/source/admin/galaxy_options.rst
index 047d5221b21..f5fd69ef56c 100644
--- a/doc/source/admin/galaxy_options.rst
+++ b/doc/source/admin/galaxy_options.rst
@@ -945,6 +945,18 @@
 :Type: str
 
 
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+``object_store_store_by``
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+:Description:
+    What Dataset attribute is used to reference files in an
+    ObjectStore implementation, default is 'id' but can also be set to
+    'uuid' for more de-centralized usage.
+:Default: ``id``
+:Type: str
+
+
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 ``smtp_server``
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
diff --git a/lib/galaxy/config.py b/lib/galaxy/config.py
index 7df5462a450..535178b05c0 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/config.py
+++ b/lib/galaxy/config.py
@@ -543,6 +543,8 @@ class Configuration(object):
         self.object_store = kwargs.get('object_store', 'disk')
         self.object_store_check_old_style = string_as_bool(kwargs.get('object_store_check_old_style', False))
         self.object_store_cache_path = resolve_path(kwargs.get("object_store_cache_path", "database/object_store_cache"), self.root)
+        self.object_store_store_by = kwargs.get("object_store_store_by", "id")
+
         # Handle AWS-specific config options for backward compatibility
         if kwargs.get('aws_access_key', None) is not None:
             self.os_access_key = kwargs.get('aws_access_key', None)
diff --git a/lib/galaxy/model/__init__.py b/lib/galaxy/model/__init__.py
index 732539733f1..803fe133621 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/model/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/galaxy/model/__init__.py
@@ -2003,7 +2003,7 @@ class Dataset(StorableObject, RepresentById):
         # actual database column so if SA instantiates this object - the
         # attribute won't exist yet.
         if not getattr(self, "external_extra_files_path", None):
-            return self.object_store.get_filename(self, dir_only=True, extra_dir=self._extra_files_path or "dataset_%d_files" % self.id)
+            return self.object_store.get_filename(self, dir_only=True, extra_dir=self._extra_files_rel_path)
         else:
             return os.path.abspath(self.external_extra_files_path)
 
@@ -2015,7 +2015,12 @@ class Dataset(StorableObject, RepresentById):
     extra_files_path = property(get_extra_files_path, set_extra_files_path)
 
     def extra_files_path_exists(self):
-        return self.object_store.exists(self, extra_dir=self._extra_files_path or "dataset_%d_files" % self.id, dir_only=True)
+        return self.object_store.exists(self, extra_dir=self._extra_files_rel_path, dir_only=True)
+
+    @property
+    def _extra_files_rel_path(self):
+        store_by = getattr(self.object_store, "store_by", "id")
+        return self._extra_files_path or "dataset_%s_files" % getattr(self, store_by)
 
     def _calculate_size(self):
         if self.external_filename:
@@ -2064,7 +2069,7 @@ class Dataset(StorableObject, RepresentById):
         if self.file_size is None:
             self.set_size()
         self.total_size = self.file_size or 0
-        if self.object_store.exists(self, extra_dir=self._extra_files_path or "dataset_%d_files" % self.id, dir_only=True):
+        if self.object_store.exists(self, extra_dir=self._extra_files_rel_path, dir_only=True):
             for root, dirs, files in os.walk(self.extra_files_path):
                 self.total_size += sum([os.path.getsize(os.path.join(root, file)) for file in files if os.path.exists(os.path.join(root, file))])
 
@@ -2090,8 +2095,8 @@ class Dataset(StorableObject, RepresentById):
         """Remove the file and extra files, marks deleted and purged"""
         # os.unlink( self.file_name )
         self.object_store.delete(self)
-        if self.object_store.exists(self, extra_dir=self._extra_files_path or "dataset_%d_files" % self.id, dir_only=True):
-            self.object_store.delete(self, entire_dir=True, extra_dir=self._extra_files_path or "dataset_%d_files" % self.id, dir_only=True)
+        if self.object_store.exists(self, extra_dir=self._extra_files_rel_path, dir_only=True):
+            self.object_store.delete(self, entire_dir=True, extra_dir=self._extra_files_rel_path, dir_only=True)
         # if os.path.exists( self.extra_files_path ):
         #     shutil.rmtree( self.extra_files_path )
         # TODO: purge metadata files
diff --git a/lib/galaxy/objectstore/__init__.py b/lib/galaxy/objectstore/__init__.py
index b3b3504bd65..0bed99b2878 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/objectstore/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/galaxy/objectstore/__init__.py
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ class ObjectStore(object):
         000/obj.id)
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, config, **kwargs):
+    def __init__(self, config, config_dict={}, **kwargs):
         """
         :type config: object
         :param config: An object, most likely populated from
@@ -95,11 +95,16 @@ class ObjectStore(object):
             * new_file_path -- Used to set the 'temp' extra_dir.
         """
         self.running = True
-        self.extra_dirs = {}
         self.config = config
         self.check_old_style = config.object_store_check_old_style
-        self.extra_dirs['job_work'] = config.jobs_directory
-        self.extra_dirs['temp'] = config.new_file_path
+        self.store_by = config_dict.get("store_by", None) or getattr(config, "object_store_store_by", "id")
+        assert self.store_by in ["id", "uuid"]
+        extra_dirs = {}
+        extra_dirs['job_work'] = config.jobs_directory
+        extra_dirs['temp'] = config.new_file_path
+        extra_dirs.update(dict(
+            (e['type'], e['path']) for e in config_dict.get('extra_dirs', [])))
+        self.extra_dirs = extra_dirs
 
     def shutdown(self):
         """Close any connections for this ObjectStore."""
@@ -227,9 +232,13 @@ class ObjectStore(object):
         return {
             'config': config_to_dict(self.config),
             'extra_dirs': extra_dirs,
+            'store_by': self.store_by,
             'type': self.store_type,
         }
 
+    def _get_object_id(self, obj):
+        return getattr(obj, self.store_by)
+
 
 class DiskObjectStore(ObjectStore):
     """
@@ -265,28 +274,21 @@ class DiskObjectStore(ObjectStore):
         :type extra_dirs: dict
         :param extra_dirs: Keys are string, values are directory paths.
         """
-        super(DiskObjectStore, self).__init__(config)
+        super(DiskObjectStore, self).__init__(config, config_dict)
         self.file_path = config_dict.get("files_dir") or config.file_path
-        extra_dirs = dict(
-            (e['type'], e['path']) for e in config_dict.get('extra_dirs', []))
-        self.extra_dirs.update(extra_dirs)
 
     @classmethod
     def parse_xml(clazz, config_xml):
         extra_dirs = []
-        file_path = None
-
+        config_dict = {}
         if config_xml is not None:
             for e in config_xml:
                 if e.tag == 'files_dir':
-                    file_path = e.get('path')
+                    config_dict["files_dir"] = e.get('path')
                 else:
                     extra_dirs.append({"type": e.get('type'), "path": e.get('path')})
 
-        config_dict = {
-            "files_dir": file_path,
-            "extra_dirs": extra_dirs,
-        }
+        config_dict["extra_dirs"] = extra_dirs
         return config_dict
 
     def to_dict(self):
@@ -359,10 +361,11 @@ class DiskObjectStore(ObjectStore):
                 path = base
         else:
             # Construct hashed path
-            rel_path = os.path.join(*directory_hash_id(obj.id))
+            obj_id = self._get_object_id(obj)
+            rel_path = os.path.join(*directory_hash_id(obj_id))
             # Create a subdirectory for the object ID
             if obj_dir:
-                rel_path = os.path.join(rel_path, str(obj.id))
+                rel_path = os.path.join(rel_path, str(obj_id))
             # Optionally append extra_dir
             if extra_dir is not None:
                 if extra_dir_at_root:
@@ -371,7 +374,7 @@ class DiskObjectStore(ObjectStore):
                     rel_path = os.path.join(rel_path, extra_dir)
             path = os.path.join(base, rel_path)
         if not dir_only:
-            path = os.path.join(path, alt_name if alt_name else "dataset_%s.dat" % obj.id)
+            path = os.path.join(path, alt_name if alt_name else "dataset_%s.dat" % obj_id)
         return os.path.abspath(path)
 
     def exists(self, obj, **kwargs):
@@ -559,7 +562,8 @@ class NestedObjectStore(ObjectStore):
     def _repr_object_for_exception(self, obj):
         try:
             # there are a few objects in python that don't have __class__
-            return '{}(id={})'.format(obj.__class__.__name__, obj.id)
+            obj_id = self._get_object_id(obj)
+            return '{}({}={})'.format(obj.__class__.__name__, self.store_by, obj_id)
         except AttributeError:
             return str(obj)
 
@@ -602,7 +606,7 @@ class DistributedObjectStore(NestedObjectStore):
         :param fsmon: If True, monitor the file system for free space,
             removing backends when they get too full.
         """
-        super(DistributedObjectStore, self).__init__(config)
+        super(DistributedObjectStore, self).__init__(config, config_dict)
 
         self.backends = {}
         self.weighted_backend_ids = []
@@ -788,7 +792,7 @@ class HierarchicalObjectStore(NestedObjectStore):
 
     def __init__(self, config, config_dict, fsmon=False):
         """The default contructor. Extends `NestedObjectStore`."""
-        super(HierarchicalObjectStore, self).__init__(config)
+        super(HierarchicalObjectStore, self).__init__(config, config_dict)
 
         backends = odict()
         for order, backend_def in enumerate(config_dict["backends"]):
diff --git a/lib/galaxy/objectstore/azure_blob.py b/lib/galaxy/objectstore/azure_blob.py
index 412c8403656..80c9fb9d0ce 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/objectstore/azure_blob.py
+++ b/lib/galaxy/objectstore/azure_blob.py
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ class AzureBlobObjectStore(ObjectStore):
     store_type = 'azure_blob'
 
     def __init__(self, config, config_dict):
-        super(AzureBlobObjectStore, self).__init__(config)
+        super(AzureBlobObjectStore, self).__init__(config, config_dict)
 
         self.transfer_progress = 0
 
@@ -107,10 +107,6 @@ class AzureBlobObjectStore(ObjectStore):
         self.cache_size = cache_dict.get('size', -1)
         self.staging_path = cache_dict.get('path') or self.config.object_store_cache_path
 
-        extra_dirs = dict(
-            (e['type'], e['path']) for e in config_dict.get('extra_dirs', []))
-        self.extra_dirs.update(extra_dirs)
-
         self._initialize()
 
     def _initialize(self):
diff --git a/lib/galaxy/objectstore/cloud.py b/lib/galaxy/objectstore/cloud.py
index 19a536dd84d..3c8a3a15957 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/objectstore/cloud.py
+++ b/lib/galaxy/objectstore/cloud.py
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ class Cloud(ObjectStore, CloudConfigMixin):
     store_type = 'cloud'
 
     def __init__(self, config, config_dict):
-        super(Cloud, self).__init__(config)
+        super(Cloud, self).__init__(config, config_dict)
         self.transfer_progress = 0
 
         auth_dict = config_dict['auth']
@@ -68,10 +68,6 @@ class Cloud(ObjectStore, CloudConfigMixin):
         self.cache_size = cache_dict.get('size', -1)
         self.staging_path = cache_dict.get('path') or self.config.object_store_cache_path
 
-        extra_dirs = dict(
-            (e['type'], e['path']) for e in config_dict.get('extra_dirs', []))
-        self.extra_dirs.update(extra_dirs)
-
         self._initialize()
 
     def _initialize(self):
diff --git a/lib/galaxy/objectstore/pithos.py b/lib/galaxy/objectstore/pithos.py
index 414279fc04b..297f06bd8e2 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/objectstore/pithos.py
+++ b/lib/galaxy/objectstore/pithos.py
@@ -87,16 +87,12 @@ class PithosObjectStore(ObjectStore):
     store_type = 'pithos'
 
     def __init__(self, config, config_dict):
-        super(PithosObjectStore, self).__init__(config)
+        super(PithosObjectStore, self).__init__(config, config_dict)
         self.staging_path = self.config.file_path
         log.info('Parse config_xml for pithos object store')
         self.config_dict = config_dict
         log.debug(self.config_dict)
 
-        log.info('Define extra_dirs')
-        extra_dirs = dict(
-            (e['type'], e['path']) for e in config_dict.get('extra_dirs', []))
-        self.extra_dirs.update(extra_dirs)
         self._initialize()
 
     def _initialize(self):
diff --git a/lib/galaxy/webapps/galaxy/config_schema.yml b/lib/galaxy/webapps/galaxy/config_schema.yml
index 62593a88b7c..0743565fcbd 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/webapps/galaxy/config_schema.yml
+++ b/lib/galaxy/webapps/galaxy/config_schema.yml
@@ -720,6 +720,14 @@ mapping:
           Configuration file for the object store
           If this is set and exists, it overrides any other objectstore settings.
 
+      object_store_store_by:
+        type: str
+        default: id
+        required: false
+        desc: |
+          What Dataset attribute is used to reference files in an ObjectStore implementation,
+          default is 'id' but can also be set to 'uuid' for more de-centralized usage.
+
       smtp_server:
         type: str
         default: ''
diff --git a/test/unit/test_objectstore.py b/test/unit/test_objectstore.py
index 3be1aeeaefa..34e06245197 100644
--- a/test/unit/test_objectstore.py
+++ b/test/unit/test_objectstore.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ from contextlib import contextmanager
 from shutil import rmtree
 from string import Template
 from tempfile import mkdtemp
+from uuid import uuid4
 from xml.etree import ElementTree
 
 import yaml
@@ -14,6 +15,7 @@ from galaxy.objectstore.azure_blob import AzureBlobObjectStore
 from galaxy.objectstore.cloud import Cloud
 from galaxy.objectstore.pithos import PithosObjectStore
 from galaxy.objectstore.s3 import S3ObjectStore
+from galaxy.util import directory_hash_id
 
 
 DISK_TEST_CONFIG = """<?xml version="1.0"?>
@@ -93,6 +95,75 @@ def test_disk_store():
             assert not os.path.exists(to_delete_real_path)
 
 
+DISK_TEST_CONFIG_BY_UUID_YAML = """
+type: disk
+files_dir: "${temp_directory}/files1"
+store_by: uuid
+extra_dirs:
+  - type: temp
+    path: "${temp_directory}/tmp1"
+  - type: job_work
+    path: "${temp_directory}/job_working_directory1"
+"""
+
+
+def test_disk_store_by_uuid():
+    for config_str in [DISK_TEST_CONFIG_BY_UUID_YAML]:
+        with TestConfig(config_str) as (directory, object_store):
+            # Test no dataset with id 1 exists.
+            absent_dataset = MockDataset(1)
+            assert not object_store.exists(absent_dataset)
+
+            # Write empty dataset 2 in second backend, ensure it is empty and
+            # exists.
+            empty_dataset = MockDataset(2)
+            directory.write("", "files1/%s/dataset_%s.dat" % (empty_dataset.rel_path_for_uuid_test(), empty_dataset.uuid))
+            assert object_store.exists(empty_dataset)
+            assert object_store.empty(empty_dataset)
+
+            # Write non-empty dataset in backend 1, test it is not emtpy & exists.
+            hello_world_dataset = MockDataset(3)
+            directory.write("Hello World!", "files1/%s/dataset_%s.dat" % (hello_world_dataset.rel_path_for_uuid_test(), hello_world_dataset.uuid))
+            assert object_store.exists(hello_world_dataset)
+            assert not object_store.empty(hello_world_dataset)
+
+            # Test get_data
+            data = object_store.get_data(hello_world_dataset)
+            assert data == "Hello World!"
+
+            data = object_store.get_data(hello_world_dataset, start=1, count=6)
+            assert data == "ello W"
+
+            # Test Size
+
+            # Test absent and empty datasets yield size of 0.
+            assert object_store.size(absent_dataset) == 0
+            assert object_store.size(empty_dataset) == 0
+            # Elsewise
+            assert object_store.size(hello_world_dataset) > 0  # Should this always be the number of bytes?
+
+            # Test percent used (to some degree)
+            percent_store_used = object_store.get_store_usage_percent()
+            assert percent_store_used > 0.0
+            assert percent_store_used < 100.0
+
+            # Test update_from_file test
+            output_dataset = MockDataset(4)
+            output_real_path = os.path.join(directory.temp_directory, "files1", output_dataset.rel_path_for_uuid_test(), "dataset_%s.dat" % output_dataset.uuid)
+            assert not os.path.exists(output_real_path)
+            output_working_path = directory.write("NEW CONTENTS", "job_working_directory1/example_output")
+            object_store.update_from_file(output_dataset, file_name=output_working_path, create=True)
+            assert os.path.exists(output_real_path)
+
+            # Test delete
+            to_delete_dataset = MockDataset(5)
+            to_delete_real_path = directory.write("content to be deleted!", "files1/%s/dataset_%s.dat" % (to_delete_dataset.rel_path_for_uuid_test(), to_delete_dataset.uuid))
+            assert object_store.exists(to_delete_dataset)
+            assert object_store.delete(to_delete_dataset)
+            assert not object_store.exists(to_delete_dataset)
+            assert not os.path.exists(to_delete_real_path)
+
+
 def test_disk_store_alt_name_relpath():
     """ Test that alt_name cannot be used to access arbitrary paths using a
     relative path
@@ -636,8 +707,13 @@ class MockDataset(object):
     def __init__(self, id):
         self.id = id
         self.object_store_id = None
+        self.uuid = uuid4()
         self.tags = []
 
+    def rel_path_for_uuid_test(self):
+        rel_path = os.path.join(*directory_hash_id(self.uuid))
+        return rel_path
+
 
 # Poor man's mocking. Need to get a real mocking library as real Galaxy development
 # dependnecy.