> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.vergeos-demo.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.vergeos-demo.com/run-the-platform/nas/overview.md).

# NAS Overview

The NAS feature provides file-level storage/access within a VergeOS system, allowing you to create volumes of files to store on your distributed storage and mount external file systems.

## Benefits of the NAS Feature

* Manage and backup file-level storage within your VergeOS system
* Take advantage of VergeOS storage efficiencies, such as deduplication, for file-level storage
* Mount external file systems to access within your VergeOS environment
* Import data into your VergeOS system for absorbing external workloads, performing backups, etc.
* Export data and/or workloads from VergeOS for third-party backup, compliance, etc.

## NAS Setup Steps

1. [**Add a NAS Service**](/run-the-platform/nas/nas-service.md)
2. \*\*Optional - \*\*[**Integrate with Active Directory**](/run-the-platform/nas/nas-join-ad-domain.md)
3. **Create Volumes** (Each volume is its own directory tree that can be customized for security, snapshot, access, antivirus, max size, and sharing settings.)
   * [**Local Volumes**](/run-the-platform/nas/nas-local-volumes.md) are stored within VergeOS, consuming vSAN storage.
   * [**Remote Volumes**](/run-the-platform/nas/nas-remote-volumes.md) are external file systems that are mounted to the VergeOS system and presented as if local.
4. [**Create Shares**](/run-the-platform/nas/nas-shares.md) to provide NFS and/or CIFS access to NAS volumes.
5. \*\*Optional - \*\*[**Configure Volume Snapshots**](/run-the-platform/nas/volume-snapshots-restores.md) for customized volume retention and/or quiesced snapshots (Non-quiesced NAS volumes can be restored from system snapshots to be used for restore.)


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