Software-defined storage (SDS) is a storage architecture that separates storage software from its hardware. Unlike traditional network-attached storage (NAS) or storage area network (SAN) systems, SDS is generally designed to perform on any industry-standard or x86 system, removing the software’s dependence on proprietary hardware. Software-defined storage (SDS) allows for greater flexibility, efficiency and scalability by making storage resources of users and organizations programmable. This approach enables storage resources to be an integral part of a larger software-designed data center (SDDC) architecture, in which resources can be easily automated and orchestrated.

Software defined storage usually has the following features:

• Automation: Simplified management that keeps costs down.
• Standard interfaces: An application programming interface (API) for management and maintenance of storage devices and services.
• A virtualized data path: Block, file and object interfaces that support applications written to these interfaces.
• Scalability: The ability to scale out storage infrastructure without impeding performance.
• Transparency: The ability to monitor and manage storage use while knowing what resources are available and at what costs.

SDS does not separate the storage itself from the hardware. It provides many services using industry-standard servers instead of proprietary hardware. Basically, SDS abstracts the things that control storage requests, not what’s actually stored. It allows to o manipulate how and where data is stored.

SDS can run on any industry-standard servers and disks. Unlike other types of storage, SDS depends more on its own software than the hardware it sits on. This means SDS can run both on the server’s standard operating system and in a virtual machine. Some SDS products can even run across containers.