Nutanix AOS Storage
Hybrid cloud storage solutions
Storage management software
- Features
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- Ease of management
- Quality of support
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What is Nutanix AOS Storage
Nutanix AOS Storage is a software-defined storage layer within the Nutanix AOS platform that pools local disks across a Nutanix cluster and presents shared storage to virtualized and containerized workloads. It is typically used by infrastructure and platform teams running hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) for on-premises environments and hybrid cloud operating models. The product emphasizes policy-based data services (for example, replication, snapshots, and tiering) managed through the Nutanix control plane rather than through separate storage arrays.
Integrated HCI storage services
AOS Storage is tightly integrated with the Nutanix cluster and management plane, reducing the need to deploy and operate separate storage controllers for many on-premises use cases. Common data services such as snapshots, cloning, and replication are managed as part of the same platform used for compute and virtualization operations. This integration can simplify day-to-day administration compared with architectures that require separate storage management tooling.
Policy-based data protection
The platform supports configurable protection policies that automate snapshot schedules and replication between Nutanix clusters. These capabilities are commonly used for site-to-site disaster recovery and operational recovery without relying on external storage-array features. For teams standardizing on Nutanix clusters, this provides a consistent approach to protection across workloads hosted on the platform.
Scale-out architecture on commodity nodes
Storage capacity and performance scale by adding nodes to the cluster, aligning growth with infrastructure expansion. The software-defined approach can use a mix of media types (for example, SSD and HDD) and applies data placement and caching techniques across the cluster. This model can be operationally simpler than scaling discrete storage appliances when the environment is already built around HCI nodes.
Best fit within Nutanix stack
AOS Storage is primarily designed to run on Nutanix clusters and is not a general-purpose storage platform for heterogeneous server fleets. Organizations that want a single storage layer spanning many non-Nutanix environments may need additional products or architectures. This can limit portability compared with storage offerings that are designed to run broadly across multiple infrastructure stacks.
Licensing and platform cost complexity
Capabilities are typically packaged and licensed as part of Nutanix software editions and may vary by feature set (for example, advanced replication or automation). Total cost depends on both software subscription and the underlying node configuration, which can be harder to compare directly with standalone storage services. Buyers often need careful sizing and edition mapping to avoid paying for unused capabilities.
Not a cloud-native object store
AOS Storage is primarily oriented around VM and platform storage needs in Nutanix clusters rather than acting as a hyperscale object storage service. While it can participate in hybrid cloud workflows, it does not directly replace cloud object storage for application-native S3-style architectures. Teams building primarily cloud-native data lakes or object-first applications may require separate cloud storage services.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan / SKU | Price (official examples) | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| NCI Pro (AOS Pro capabilities) | PAYG example: $2.496 per node/hour (z1d.metal); Yearly example: $21,864.96 per node (z1d.metal) | Core AOS storage & infrastructure features. Available as Pay-as-you-go (hourly) on Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2); prices vary by bare-metal instance (i3.metal, i3en.metal, m5d.metal, z1d.metal, g4dn.metal, etc.). |
| NCI Ultimate (AOS Ultimate capabilities) | PAYG example: $3.144 per node/hour (z1d.metal); Yearly example: $27,541.44 per node (z1d.metal) | Full-suite AOS features (security, advanced replication, etc.). Available on NC2; per-node and annual pricing shown on official NC2 pricing page. |
| Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) - add-on | $0.112 per TiB (PAYG hourly meter); first 1 TiB free per cluster | NUS is a storage add-on (file/object/block) available as a TiB-based PAYG add-on on NC2. |
| EUC Ultimate (End-user computing licensing) | $0.061 per user (PAYG hourly meter) | Per-user licensing for EUC workloads (PAYG). |
Notes:
- NC2 PAYG prices differ by selected bare-metal instance; the NC2 pricing page lists detailed per-node hourly and yearly costs for many instance types (i3.metal, i3en.metal, m5d.metal, z1d.metal, g4dn.metal, i4i.metal, C4-metal, Z3-metal, etc.).
- On‑prem / legacy AOS licensing: Nutanix documents that on‑prem licensing is capacity/core-based (term licenses) and that starter/pro/ultimate editions exist, but explicit list prices for on‑prem AOS or legacy appliance pricing are not published on the public site and require contacting Nutanix or a partner.
Seller details
Nutanix, Inc.
San Jose, CA, USA
2009
Public
https://www.nutanix.com/
https://x.com/nutanix
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nutanix/
