1. A method comprises: detecting, by a first storage unit of a set of storage units of a dispersed storage network (DSN), a failed memory device of a plurality of memory devices of the first storage unit, wherein: each storage unit of the set of storage units includes a plurality of memory devices and a processing module; the processing module includes a rebuilding resource; a data object is divided into a plurality of data segments; a data segment of the plurality of data segments is dispersed storage error encoded into a set of encoded data slices; the first storage unit stores first encoded data slices of pluralities of sets of encoded data slices corresponding to a plurality of data objects as a first grouping of encoded data slices; and the first storage unit stores a sub-group of the first grouping of encoded data slices in the failed memory device; determining, by the first storage unit, to rebuild the sub-group of the first grouping of encoded data slices locally or distributedly, wherein the determination is based, at least in part, on an estimate of the load to rebuild the sub-group of the first grouping of encoded data slices by the first storage unit; and when determined to rebuild the sub-group of the first grouping of encoded data slices distributedly: identifying two or more rebuilding resources from the rebuilding resources of the set of storage units; allocating rebuilding assignments of the sub-group of the first grouping of encoded data slices among the identified rebuilding resources; and rebuilding, by the identified rebuilding resources, the sub-group of the first grouping of encoded data slices.