Understanding
SSD Technology
NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is a communications interface and driver that defines a command set and feature set for PCIe-based SSDs with the goals of increased and efficient performance and interoperability on a broad range of enterprise and client systems.
NVMe was designed for SSD. It communicates between the storage interface and the system CPU using high-speed PCIe sockets, independent of storage form factor.
Input/Output tasks performed using NVMe drivers begin faster, transfer more data and finish faster than older storage models that use older drivers, such as AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface)
– a feature of SATA SSDs. Because it was designed specifically for SSDs, NVMe is becoming the new industry standard.
Storage: Then and now
DATA BUSES: Transport data within a system
SATA |
PCIe |
Transfers up to... |
Transfers up to... |
2,000MB/s
Per Lane
1,000MB/s
Per Lane
300MB/s |
600MB/s |
500MB/s |
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150MB/s |
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Per Lane |
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1 LANE |
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1 LANE 1 LANE
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SATA I |
SATA II |
SATA III |
16 LANES |
16 LANES |
16 LANES |
PCIe Gen 2 |
PCIe Gen 3 |
PCIe Gen 4 |
Using 16 lanes, PCIe Gen 4 can transfer data at 32,000MB/s
Communication drivers
Used by operating systems to communicate data with storage devices
AHCI |
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NVMe |
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Designed for Hard Drives with |
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Designed for SSDs with |
Spinning Disk technology |
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Flash technology |
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Has only |
64K |
Has |
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1 command queue |
64K command queues |
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Can send only |
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Can send |
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32 commands per queue |
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64K commands per queue |
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Commands utilise |
Commands utilise |
high CPU cycles |
low CPU cycles |
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AHCI |
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NVMe |
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Has a latency of |
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Has a latency of |
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6 microseconds |
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2.8 microseconds |
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Must communicate with the |
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Communicates directly with the |
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SATA controller |
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system CPU |
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IOPs up to |
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IOPs over |
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100K |
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1 million |
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SSD form factors: The shapes and sizes of solid-state storage
<![endif]>SATA
<![if ! IE]><![endif]>PCIe
(designed for smaller form factor systems)
(supports AHCI version)
2.5” |
mSATA |
M.2 |
HHHL – Half Height, Half Length |
M.2 |
U.2 |
(also called AIC or Add-In Card) |
(supports NVMe version) |
(only available in NVMe) |
AHCI versions of these drives plug into the PCIe slot, but use the AHCI drivers
Some older versions of HHHL use proprietary drivers
NVMe versions typically use native OS drivers
Beyond the numbers: Benefits of NVMe technology
Optimal performance
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Superior storage |
Superior speed |
Superior compatibility |
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PCle sockets transfer >25x more |
NVMe begins sending commands |
NVMe cuts out the middleman by |
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data than their SATA equivalent |
more than 2x faster than AHCI drivers |
communicating directly with the |
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system CPU |
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NVMe input/output operations per |
NVMe-based drivers work with all |
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second exceeds 1 million and is up to |
major operating systems, regardless |
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900% faster than its AHCI equivalent |
of form factor |
Contact your local Kingston representative to find out which Kingston SSD drive is right for you, or visit: kingston.com/en/solutions/servers-data-centers
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