---
title: What is Software-defined Storage (SDS)?
url: https://www.vmware.com/topics/software-defined-storage
description: Learn about software-defined storage (SDS), where dynamically composed, policy-driven storage services align with app needs.
---

# What is Software-defined Storage (SDS)?

Software-Defined Storage (SDS) is a model in which storage services are dynamically composed, aligned with application boundaries, and driven by policy. This approach abstracts the underlying hardware, similar to [server virtualization](https://www.vmware.com/topics/server-virtualization), to create a vastly more efficient [operational model](https://www.vmware.com/topics/cloud-operating-model).

## Why leverage an SDS solution

SDS enables increased automation and simplified management, standardized interfaces, and greater scalability and transparency for monitoring and managing storage.

## How software-defined storage (SDS) works

Software-defined storage (SDS) works by introducing a software abstraction layer that decouples storage services and management from the underlying physical hardware. This approach transforms traditional storage into a virtualized resource that can be managed through policies and [automation](https://www.vmware.com/topics/cloud-automation).

## Software-defined Storage (SDS) benefits

- **Enhanced efficiency:** Compared to traditional storage, SDS workflows are simpler, requiring fewer steps and personnel. This automation is a core, intentional design feature.
- **Improved precision and granularity:** Dynamic storage composition based on application needs eliminates waste. Applications receive precisely the required performance, capacity, and protection, ending gross approximations and overprovisioning.
- **Agility:** Application storage needs evolve, and changing the policy automatically and transparently adjusts the infrastructure, supporting workloads from pilot to decommissioning.
- **Improved automation stability:** Automation tied to specific hardware is fragile; changing the hardware requires changing the automation. Software-defined storage (SDS) abstracts the hardware, enabling higher-level, more resilient automation. A core benefit of SDS is that infrastructure changes don't necessitate changes in higher-level automation processes.
- **Build on existing hardware:** Storage is shifting to industry-standard components and server form factors, driven by the economic appeal and the advantage of using consistent building blocks. This change allows for lower hardware costs and the freedom to select hardware independently of software.
- **Application modernization:** New, dynamic applications (like mobile or predictive analytics) place greater, faster-changing demands on IT infrastructure than traditional enterprise applications. They require quicker reaction times and adaptation. Some even sense performance and adjust resources. The older method of static assumptions about performance, capacity, and data services cannot meet these needs, which provides a key motivation for software-defined storage (SDS).

## How VMware products can help

[VMware vSAN](https://www.vmware.com/products/cloud-infrastructure/vsan) serves as the robust foundation for the modern [private cloud](https://www.vmware.com/topics/private-cloud). As the integrated private cloud storage trusted by enterprises for their most critical applications, vSAN helps organizations significantly reduce both capital and operational storage costs. It provides the essential performance, scale, and resilience required for diverse modern workloads, from [cloud-native](https://www.vmware.com/topics/cloud-native) applications to AI-powered analytics. Furthermore, vSAN ensures consistent operations across the [edge](https://www.vmware.com/topics/edge-cloud), [core](https://www.vmware.com/topics/cloud-infrastructure), and [cloud](https://www.vmware.com/topics/cloud), and features industry-leading [cyber resilience](https://www.vmware.com/topics/cyber-resilience) capabilities.

## Recommended for You

- [Storage Area Network (SAN)](https://www.vmware.com/topics/storage-area-network)
- [Private Cloud](https://www.vmware.com/topics/private-cloud)
- [Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI)](https://www.vmware.com/topics/hyperconverged-infrastructure)
- [Cloud Storage](https://www.vmware.com/topics/cloud-storage)

## Related Products and Solutions

- [VMware vSAN](https://www.vmware.com/products/cloud-infrastructure/vsan)
- [VMware vSphere Foundation](https://www.vmware.com/products/cloud-infrastructure/vsphere-foundation)
- [Why Private Cloud](https://www.vmware.com/solutions/cloud-infrastructure/why-private-cloud)

## Also of Interest

- [What is Platform Engineering?](https://www.vmware.com/topics/platform-engineering)
- [VMware Cloud Foundation](https://www.vmware.com/products/cloud-infrastructure/vmware-cloud-foundation)
- [What is Software-Defined Networking (SDN)?](https://www.vmware.com/topics/software-defined-networking)