SoftNAS runs as a Linux-based (64-bit CentOS) guest operating system running as a VM in a virtual server environment (e.g., VMware, EC2, Hyper-V, etc.)

 

As shown below (in a VMware use case), storage devices are attached to the physical hardware layer, then presented to SoftNAS as a VM running Linux.

 

Both the VM layer and Linux layer provide fed and a robust operating environment for SoftNAS.

 

SoftNAS uses a derivative of ZFS, the Zetabyte File System, originally released on OpenSolaris by Sun Microsystems as an open source project.  SoftNAS leverages many ZFS features, then adds layers of functionality and extensions to create a full function NAS solution for virtual computing and cloud computing.

 

While the underlying Engine Room is interesting, most IT administrators are also concerned with how to administer and manage storage.  Administrators have a primary administration interface called SoftNAS StorageCenter™, which provides commercial-grade storage administration and management functionality.

 

 

There are also a robust set of command line functions available, including ZFS commands and utilities, Linux commands and scripting, and a huge library of Linux add-on products in the broader marketplace that can be used with SoftNAS, since it operates on an industry standard Linux platform.

 

Under the hood, SoftNAS also leverages the ubiquitous Apache webserver, which provides robust, secure access.  Secure shell (SSH) is also available. Storage is accessible via TCP/IP protocols including NFS v3, NFS v4, SMB/CIFS (Windows file shares) and iSCSI.  All other Linux-based servers are also available, including FTP, SFTP, etc.