A system and method of testing, during development, the operation of a clustered storage server system and its associated storage operating system. The system includes at least one host computer having a host operating system, and at least one virtual computer having a simulated storage operating system, at least one simulated disk, a simulated NVRAM, and a simulated flashcard within a guest operating system hosted by the host operating system. The simulated storage operating system represents an actual storage operating system. Facilities of the simulated storage operating system including the simulated disk, the simulated NVRAM, and the simulated flashcard are mapped onto corresponding facilities of the host operating system via virtualization components of the virtual computer so that the simulated storage operating system operates substantially the same as the actual storage operating system on low cost host hardware platforms.