What is Non-volatile Memory Express (NVMe)?

NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is a protocol that uses the PCI Express (PCIe) interface to link solid-state drive (SSD) storage to servers or CPUs. It is the fastest and most popular protocol for connecting to a computer”s motherboard”s non-volatile memory express (NVMe). NVMe was developed in 2011 by a group of IT professionals; this device is an alternative to SATA and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) protocols which provides higher throughput for faster and more reliable performance. In addition to storage and technology advancements, NVMe helped to accelerate the development of critical technologies like as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML).

The NVMe protocol is dedicated to data transfer with low system overheads per input/output operation per second. It is used in SSDs with flash memory. NVMe addresses the bottlenecks in the SATA interface and communication protocols. NVMe technology uses the PCIe bus instead of the SATA bus to unleash massive bandwidth potential for storage devices. NVMe technology unlocks different possibilities for storage devices by increasing economy, performance, and compatibility across different platforms.

Recent technical developments in data storage have pushed organizations and individuals to move from traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) to fast data transmission, and lower-latency solid-state drives (SSDs). SSD and NVMe are two different types of drives that can be used to complement each other. SSDs are semiconductor-based storage that includes flash storage, and NVMe is a data transfer protocol that uses reduced system overheads per input/output operation per second in SSDs with flash memory. It is expected that the NVMe technology will become the new industry standard in the upcoming time.

Why NVMe is Important?

NVMe has a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) bus which can achieve transfer speeds of up to 20 gigabytes per second (Gbps). Power is not required for the NVMe device to retain its memory. Unlike other technologies, NVMe storage can connect directly to a computer’s CPU using a PCIe socket and enable the drive’s flash memory to function through PCIe.

NVMe technology has fast data transfer speeds and allows for parallelism and polling; NVMe SSDs can optimize response times, and write speeds, and reduce latency to avoid CPU bottlenecks. Additionally, NVMe technology uses less power than the popular Small Computer System Interface (SCSI).

Characteristics of NVMe

Some of the key characteristics of NVMe are as follows −

• High Throughput and Low Latency − NVMe leverages the high-speed PCIe bus for latency which makes faster data transfer rates.
• Performance Enhancement − Its low latency and high-speed data transfer features significantly improve the performance of storage systems.
• Scalability − The structural design of NVMe makes it scalable to improve performance by providing compatibility with future storage advancements.
• Cost Efficiency − Its higher performance and durability typically result in long-term cost advantages due to increased productivity and decreased downtime.
• Future-proofing − NVMe is highly extensible and compatible with all emerging persistent memory technologies.

How does NVMe Work?

NVMe is a storage transfer technology that allows you to quickly access data from flash memory storage devices like SSDs. It allows flash memory to communicate directly with a computer using a high-speed peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) bus, resulting in quick, high-throughput, and parallel data transfer. NVMe communicates between a storage interface and a system CPU via a high-speed Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) bus. The NVMe protocol was developed to work with fast media.

NVMe’s work starts with the host; they write I/O commands. The NVMe controller retrieves and executes I/O command queues, then returns I/O completion queues, followed by an interrupt to the host. The host logs I/O completion queues and clears the door register. It reduces overhead as compared to standard transfer protocols such as serial attached SCSI (SAS) and serial ATA (SATA), NVMe is optimized for non-uniform memory access (NUMA), which means it can handle queues across multiple CPU cores.

Advantages of NVMe

Some of the key advantages of NVMe are as follows −

• NVMe technology gives storage, speed and compatibility features.
• It uses PCIe sockets which makes faster data transmission.
• NVMe communicates directly with the system.
• NVMe drives work with all major operating systems regardless of form factor.
• It is most suitable to utilise SSDs and communicate between the storage interface and the system”s CPU using PCIe.
• Its performance is significantly higher.
• NVMe is specifically intended for SSDs and will eventually become the next industry standard.