What is Software-Defined Storage?

Software-defined storage (SDS) is an approach to data storage wherein software provisions and manages storage independent from underlying hardware.

Software-defined storage definition

Software-defined storage (SDS) marks a departure from the traditional use of network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area networks (SANs). In contrast to the hardware-centric NAS and SAN, SDS uses storage virtualization to control storage through a software layer abstracted from physical storage devices. This approach allows storage pooling and automated storage management. The SDS software may manage policies for data deduplication, replication, thin provisioning, snapshots, and backup.