NVMe Storage
What is NVMe Storage?
NVMe Storage: A type of storage implemented via the NVMe-oF (NVMe over fabrics) protocol. You can add a block device configured from an NVMe storage as SharedBlock primary storage.
Related Concepts
Storage device, interface, and protocol:
- Storage device: A hardware used for storing data. Hard disk drive (HDD) and
solid state drive (SSD) are two common types of storage devices, featuring
different form factors. Common HDD and SSD form factors are listed as
follows:
- HDD form factors: 2.5 inches and 3.5 inches.
- SSD form factors: 2.5 inches, M.2, mSATA, and U.2.
- Interface: The connection that enables data transfer between storage devices
and computer software. The interface specifications of storage devices
differ from one another. Common HDD and SSD interfaces are listed as follows
in decreasing order of transfer speed:
- HDD interfaces: SAS (Serial Attached SCSI), SCSI, SATA (Serial ATA), and IDE.
- SSD interfaces: PCIe, M.2, mSATA, and SATA III.
- Protocol: The interface specification for data transfer between a physical
interface and computer software. Interfaces vary in their supported
protocols. Common protocols are listed as follows:
- AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) protocol: A protocol for storage devices with SATA/M.2 interface. AHCI can be used for both HDD and SSD.
- NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) protocol: A protocol for storage devices with PCIe/M.2 interface. NVMe is specifically designed for SSD.
The NVMe storage uses NVMe SSDs to create storage arrays via NVMe-oF protocol,
facilitating data transfer between storage devices and VM instances within a
cluster.
- NVMe-oF (NVMe over Fabrics): An extension of the NVMe network protocol to
the fabric, using Ethernet, Fiber Channel, RoCE, or InfiniBand. NVMe-oF
enables all VM instances within a cluster to access NVMe storage at a high
speed, improving the overall I/O performance of a cluster.ZStack Cube Ultimate NVMe storage supports the following two types of transports:
- NVMe-oF using RDMA (NVMe-oF using Remote Direct Memory Access): This technology uses Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) to enable data exchange directly between two computers’ main memory. Since data exchange bypasses the processor, cache, and OS of either computer, this mechanism enables efficient data transfer with low-overhead costs. NVMe-oF using RDMA can be implemented in multiple ways, including RoCE (RDMA over Converged Ethernet), InfiniBand, and iWARP.
- NVMe over FC (NVMe-oF using FC): This specification uses Fibre Channel (FC) protocol to enable data transfer between storage arrays and VM instances within a cluster.
- NVMe of using TCP: This specification uses the standard TCP protocol to enable data transfer between storage arrays and VM instances within a cluster.
Why NVMe?
NVMe storage has the following advantages:
- Future-oriented: NVMe storage breaks the performance bottlenecks of AHCI that was specifically designed for HDDs and fully unlock the potential of SSDs. With improved performance, higher resource utilization, and reduced cost, NVMe presents an enterprise-grade storage solution that will future-proof your business.
- High performance: NVMe storage can handle queue depths of up to 65K I/O operations, each holding 65K commands. This significantly increases parallel disk IOPS along with reduced latency, greatly boosting storage performance.
Use Cases
- Electronic trading: In electronic trading, the execution price is extremely time-sensitive. In other words, a few microseconds could result in a large price difference. Therefore, low end-to-end latency is required to avoid losses due to price changes in a short time and thus maintain competitiveness.
- Real-time analytics: In the field of fraud detection, marketing applications, or games that require response time in milliseconds or even microseconds, the capability of real-time analytics could define a company’s business value. Powerful real-time analytics requires the server to respond quickly with low latency. With this capability, users can resolve potential crises, grasp business opportunities, and eventually achieve business growth.
Quick Start
You can quickly get started with NVMe storage by following these steps:
- Build an NVMe backend storage.
- Log in to the Cloud and enter the NVMe Storage page where you can synchronize information of NVMe block devices.
- On the Primary Storage page, click Add Primary Storage to add a SharedBlock primary storage using LUNs provided by NVMe SSD.
- Create a VM instance with this SharedBlock primary storage.
Manage an NVMe Storage
On the main menu of ZStack Cube Ultimate, choose . Then, the NVMe Storage page is displayed.
You can perform the following action on an NVMe storage:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Sync Device Info | Manually refresh and then identify NVMe storage devices. |