Most organisations still run their shared folders on a NAS appliance: a fixed amount of disk in one cabinet, at one site, on a hardware support contract that eventually runs out. When it fills up, or reaches end of life, the default answer is to buy a bigger one and migrate. This guide explains the alternative, what changes, what doesn't, and when it's the right call.
A traditional NAS is still fine when…
- Your data volume is small and stable
- You have a healthy backup and offsite copy already
- The appliance is well inside its support window
- Very high-throughput workloads need all data on local disk
A virtual NAS makes sense when…
- Capacity keeps running out, or a refresh is due
- One site or one box holding every share worries you
- You want ransomware rollback built into the storage
- You'd rather pay monthly for what you use than buy ahead
Five ways the NAS box holds you back
None of these are faults in any particular product. They come from the model itself: storage capacity, location and lifespan are all tied to one piece of hardware.
What is a virtual NAS?
A virtual NAS does for storage what virtualisation did for servers. It separates how users reach their files from where those files physically live.
Users still connect to a file server and see the same shares, folders and drive letters. But that server holds only a local cache of the files in active use. The full volume is encrypted and spread across several storage locations, so capacity can grow without new hardware and any single location can go offline without anyone losing data.
With Vawlt, the volume is spread across four storage locations you choose, from up to 14 supported providers: public cloud, private cloud or your own on-premises S3 storage. Any one of the four can fail and the data still rebuilds from the other three.
How it works
A small Windows or Linux file server, physical or virtual, runs the Vawlt Storage Agent. Users connect to that server exactly as they would to a NAS today.
Traditional NAS vs virtual NAS: the full comparison
| What matters | Traditional NAS | Vawlt Virtual NAS |
|---|---|---|
| How users work | Mapped drives and shared folders | Unchanged: same shares, folders and mapped drives |
| Permissions | NTFS permissions managed in Windows | Unchanged: Windows ACLs preserved and still managed in Windows |
| Growing capacity | New shelves, a new box or a migration | Grow the volume in the Vawlt console, no new hardware |
| Where the data lives | One appliance, one site | Four locations you choose from up to 14 providers: public, private or on-premises |
| If one location fails | Restore from backup, if one exists | Data still rebuilds from the other three locations |
| Ransomware on the share | Depends on separate snapshot and backup tooling | Locked snapshots, held apart from the data, to roll the volume back |
| Who can read the data | Anyone with access to the appliance | Encrypted on your side before it leaves; Vawlt never sees your keys |
| Refresh and cost | Capital outlay every few years | One monthly price for the capacity you use; no charge for agents or anything on-premises |
The detail behind each dimension
01 — CAPACITY & COSTStop buying storage years in advance
With an appliance you size for where you think you'll be in three to five years, then pay for that capacity on day one. A virtual NAS turns that into an operating cost: the volume grows in the console when you need it, billed monthly for what you actually use. The agent and anything you run on-premises carry no extra charge. And because the hardware no longer holds the data, vendor end-of-life notices stop dictating your project calendar.
02 — RESILIENCENo single box, site or provider to lose
A conventional NAS is one point of failure, however many disks are inside it. Spreading an encrypted volume across four independent locations means a cloud outage, a provider issue or a problem at one of your own sites doesn't take the shares down with it. The data rebuilds from the remaining three.
03 — RANSOMWARERollback is part of the storage, not an add-on
File shares are a favourite ransomware target because one compromised account can encrypt everything it can reach. Vawlt keeps locked snapshots held apart from the data, so the volume can be rolled back to a point before the attack. Audit logs of admin and user activity help you work out what happened and prove it afterwards. It's not a replacement for a proper backup strategy, but it closes a gap many NAS estates leave open.
04 — SECURITY & DATA SOVEREIGNTYYour keys, your choice of locations
Data is encrypted on your side before it leaves the file server, and Vawlt never sees your keys. The platform's control plane handles settings and billing only; your files travel on a separate data plane straight to the storage locations. Because you pick those locations, including UK data centres or your own on-premises S3, you stay in control of where data resides, which helps when working through UK GDPR and customer data-residency requirements.
What stays the same, and what gets better
Stays the same
- Shared folders, mapped drives and file paths
- NTFS permissions, managed in Windows with your existing Active Directory
- Day-to-day tools and workflows for users and IT
- Your existing NAS can be reused as the local cache
Gets better
- Capacity grows without shelves, migrations or forklift upgrades
- Resilience across four locations, with any one able to fail
- Encryption on your side, with keys Vawlt never sees
- Rollback from locked snapshots, plus audit logs of admin and user activity
Is a NAS refresh on the horizon?
Talk to us before you buy the next box. We'll look at your current shares, size the cache and set up a free proof of concept on your own data.
Book a call with a specialist → Call 01256 331614Already working in the UK
“They access and work on Vawlt stored assets as if on the local server.” National Portrait Gallery: a growing photo and video archive on a Vawlt Virtual NAS, with no change to editors' workflows.
“Vawlt was straightforward to deploy, simple to manage day to day, and gives us clear auditability to prove immutability.” CA Group: long-term testing archives, with the option to present the volume as a virtual NAS if on-premises storage fails.
Quick decision criteria
The honest planning notes
A virtual NAS is simple for users, but there are a few design points worth getting right up front:
- The file server is part of your design. It re-shares the volume, so plan for it. Most customers keep a standby VM ready, and every server running the agent needs access to the same Active Directory.
- Size the cache for your working set. The local cache is a performance tier, and it is not immutable. Immutability applies once data is committed to the storage locations.
- Rollback time scales with object count. Volumes with very large numbers of files take longer to roll back, so factor that into recovery objectives.
- Validate NFS in the proof of concept. SMB from Windows is the common path; NFS re-sharing from Linux should be tested on your data first.
The good news: a free proof of concept runs on your own data, and the same volume can go straight into production afterwards. Nothing is thrown away.
Frequently asked questions
Will my users notice any difference?
For day-to-day work, no. They keep the same mapped drives, folders and file paths, and frequently used files are served from the local cache at local speed.
Do we lose our existing permissions?
No. Windows ACLs are preserved and you keep managing NTFS permissions in Windows with your existing Active Directory.
Can we reuse our current NAS?
Yes. Your existing NAS can serve as the local cache, so the hardware you already own keeps earning its keep.
Is this the same as cloud backup?
No. A virtual NAS is primary, live file storage. Locked snapshots give you rollback, but we'd still recommend an independent backup copy as part of a 3-2-1 approach.
How is it priced?
One monthly price for the capacity you use, with no charge for agents or anything on-premises. Talk to us for a quote based on your data volume.
Ready to try a virtual NAS?
We'll set up a free proof of concept on your own data, and the same volume can go straight into production afterwards.
Book a call with a specialist → Email us Or call +44 (0)1256 331614Related reading
Sources: Vawlt Virtual NAS UK two-pager (2026); product detail from vawlt.io. Customer quotes from published Vawlt case studies: National Portrait Gallery and CA Group.
