SoftNAS Cloud NAS
Enterprise IT management software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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Pay-as-you-go
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- Banking and insurance
What is SoftNAS Cloud NAS
SoftNAS Cloud NAS is a software-defined network-attached storage (NAS) appliance designed to run in public cloud or virtualized environments. It provides shared file storage services (for example, SMB/CIFS and NFS) backed by cloud block storage, with management features aimed at IT teams that need centralized storage for applications, user shares, and backups. The product focuses on deploying NAS capabilities as a VM or cloud instance rather than dedicated hardware, with options for high availability and snapshot-based data protection depending on the underlying platform.
Cloud-deployable NAS appliance
SoftNAS Cloud NAS runs as a virtual appliance in common cloud and virtualization environments, enabling shared storage without purchasing dedicated NAS hardware. This fits teams standardizing on infrastructure-as-code and cloud operations while still needing traditional file protocols. It can be used to provide lift-and-shift compatible storage for workloads that expect SMB/NFS shares.
Supports common file protocols
The product provides NAS access using widely adopted protocols such as SMB/CIFS and NFS, which helps integrate with Windows and Linux clients and many enterprise applications. This reduces the need for application changes compared with object storage approaches. It also supports typical NAS administration tasks such as share management and access control configuration.
Data protection and HA options
SoftNAS Cloud NAS commonly supports snapshot/replication-style protection and can be deployed in high-availability configurations depending on the cloud or hypervisor design. These capabilities help reduce downtime and improve recoverability for shared file services. The approach aligns with operational needs where storage availability is managed alongside compute and networking.
Not a full ITSM suite
Despite being used by IT operations teams, SoftNAS Cloud NAS is primarily a storage platform rather than a broad IT management suite. It does not replace service desk, ticketing, endpoint management, or observability platforms used for end-to-end IT operations. Organizations typically need additional tools for monitoring, incident workflows, and automation across the wider estate.
Cloud cost and performance tuning
Performance and cost depend heavily on the chosen cloud instance types, disk configurations, and network design. Achieving predictable throughput and latency may require careful sizing, IOPS planning, and ongoing tuning. This can be more complex than using a managed cloud file service where the provider abstracts much of the infrastructure management.
Storage administration expertise required
Operating a software-defined NAS still requires storage and security administration, including permissions, share design, backup/replication policies, and patching. Misconfiguration can lead to access issues or inefficient storage utilization. Teams without prior NAS experience may face a steeper learning curve than with simpler managed alternatives.
Plan & Pricing
Pricing model: Pay-as-you-go (performance-tier hourly pricing; billed per hour on each cloud marketplace).
Free tier/trial: 30-day free trial available (SoftNAS Free Trial via vendor; deployable through AWS/Azure marketplaces and VMware). See vendor Free Trial page for details.
Example costs (official vendor pages):
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AWS / Azure (SoftNAS performance tiers shown on vendor site):
- SOFTNAS 200 — $0.25 per hour (General purpose / small scale)
- SOFTNAS 400 — $1.32 per hour (Medium scale)
- SOFTNAS 800 — $3.16 per hour (Large scale)
- SOFTNAS 1600 — $8.22 per hour (Very large scale)
- SOFTNAS 3200 — $12.10 per hour (Large data/HPC)
- SOFTNAS 6400 — $18.15 per hour (Highest performance/HPC)
- Note: vendor pages state “Storage: No additional charge” for these tiers.
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Oracle Cloud (SoftNAS OCI performance tiers shown on vendor site):
- OSN-1 — $0.13 per hour (Small scale / 1 OCPU)
- OSN-2 — $0.66 per hour (2 OCPUs)
- OSN-4 — $1.58 per hour (4 OCPUs)
- OSN-8 — $2.78 per hour (8 OCPUs)
- OSN-16 — $4.68 per hour (16 OCPUs)
- OSN-24 — $6.19 per hour (24 OCPUs)
- OSN-32 — $7.71 per hour (32 OCPUs)
Discount / purchase options (vendor guidance): Contact vendor for performance assessment, BYOL (bring-your-own-license) options, and volume/annual pricing. Vendor also points to deployment via cloud marketplaces (AWS, Azure, Oracle) and offers performance assessments.
Notes & limitations: All prices and tiers above are taken from the vendor’s official pages (Buurst / SoftNAS). Pricing is presented as hourly rates on the vendor site and differs slightly by cloud (e.g., the Oracle OSN-1 tier at $0.13/hr is lower than AWS/Azure entry tier).
