Kingston NVMe User Manual
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
Transfers up to...
600MB/s
150MB/s
1 LANE
SATA I SATA II SATA III
300MB/s
1 LANE
1 LANE
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
Designed for Hard Drives with
Spinning Disk technology
PCIe
Transfers up to...
500MB/s
Per Lane
16 LANES
PCIe Gen 2
Designed for SSDs with
Flash technology
1,000MB/s
Per Lane
16 LANES
PCIe Gen 3
NVMe
2,000MB/s
Per Lane
16 LANES
PCIe Gen 4
1
32
Has only
1 command queue
Can send only
32 commands per queue
Commands utilise
high CPU cycles
64K
Has
64K command queues
Can send
64K commands per queue
Commands utilise
low CPU cycles
AHCI NVMe
Has a latency of
6 microseconds
Must communicate with the
SATA controller
IOPs up to
100K
Has a latency of
2.8 microseconds
Communicates directly with the
system CPU
IOPs over
1 million
SSD form factors: The shapes and sizes of solid-state storage
(designed for smaller
form factor systems)
SATAPCIe
2.5”
mSATA
(supports AHCI version)
M.2
HHHL – Half Height, Half Length
(also called AIC or Add-In Card)
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
(supports NVMe version)
M.2
Beyond the numbers: Benefits of NVMe technology
Optimal performance
Superior speed Superior compatibilitySuperior storage
PCle sockets transfer >25x more
data than their SATA equivalent
NVMe begins sending commands
more than 2x faster than AHCI drivers
NVMe input/output operations per
second exceeds 1 million and is up to
900% faster than its AHCI equivalent
U.2
(only available in NVMe)
NVMe cuts out the middleman by
communicating directly with the
system CPU
NVMe-based drivers work with all
major operating systems, regardless
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
© 2020 Kingston Technology Europe Co LLP and Kingston Digital Europe Co LLP, Kingston Court, Brooklands Close,
Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex, TW16 7EP, England. Tel: +44 (0) 1932 738888 Fax: +44 (0) 1932 785469
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