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In our fast-paced, constantly connected world, data is more valuable than ever. And as companies strive to capture and analyze every byte, storage hardware has become a critical component in the data processing equation.
But with traditional hard drives maxed out, even the fastest CPUs can’t keep up with the flood of incoming data. That’s why many companies are turning to the NVMe cloud to get the most out of their storage hardware.
In this article, we explain how NVMe works and the performance advantages of using the technology in your business. Let’s go?
What is the NVMe cloud?
NVMe (non-volatile memory express) is a storage transfer protocol for quickly accessing data from flash memory storage devices such as solid state drives (SSDs).
Fast, high-throughput, and massively parallel, the NVMe base specification allows flash memory to communicate directly with a computer over a high-speed PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) bus.
What are the differences between NVMe and SATA?
Solid state drives (SSDs) and their affiliated technologies continue to evolve rapidly. In recent years, SSDs have made great strides in reducing latency, increasing efficiency, and improving performance—and it’s clear that the future will bring more refinements that save time and manpower.
It’s also true, however, that all of these innovations in SSD technology have left end users with an array of options that are difficult to sort through.
Introduced a decade ago, NVMe has become a major player in the SSD world in recent years. It is widely believed that it will outperform older SATA and SAS interfaces. At the moment, however, it remains one of several viable options.
But, what distinguishes these SSD interfaces from each other?
SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment)
SATA — sometimes called serial ATA — is a computer bus interface that was introduced in 2000, making it the oldest SSD interface seen today. Its release represented a huge improvement over the Parallel ATA (PATA) interface that had been in use since the 1980s.
Compared to its predecessor, SATA offered faster data transfer rates and less electromagnetic interference. It also enabled hot-swapping—the ability to replace system components without having to shut down the system.
SATA is a half-duplex (unidirectional) interface, so it cannot perform read and write functions simultaneously. This can result in serious performance delays, particularly in applications with heavy I/O processing demands.
However, SATA SSDs remain very popular in the corporate world due to their relatively low cost. The latest SATA revision (3.5) was released in July 2020.
SAS (Serial Attached SCSI)
SAS, which hit the market in 2004, represents a significant technical advance over the previous SATA interface. It deploys a serial point-to-point protocol that uses the SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) command set to transfer data to and from linked devices with high speed and efficiency.
The SAS can manage up to 128 direct point-to-point connections, and its full-duplex capabilities allow simultaneous read and write functionality. SAS is also compatible with SATA devices as its connections and backplanes are designed to accommodate SATA drives and protocols. This versatility has made SAS the preferred choice for many servers and workstations across the business world.
The latest SAS standard, SAS-4, arrived in 2017 and can support 22.5 Gbit/s throughput.
NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express)
Introduced in 2011, NVMe was designed to address the shortcomings of SATA and SAS interfaces, both of which were developed during the era dominated by the hard disk drive (HDD).
The first interface to take full advantage of flash-based SSD technology, it uses a PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) bus to communicate directly with the CPU and dispenses with the host bus adapters (HBAs) required for SATA and SAS. Like SAS, it has full-duplex capabilities, but greatly outperforms it in data transmission power.
Leveraging SSDs’ capacity for parallel computing and providing more channels for data transmission, NVMe dramatically reduces latency and I/O overhead, resulting in very high data transfer rates. It’s also highly scalable — with bi-directional PCIe SSDs, you can get up to 32 lanes in one device.
The latest NVMe revision (2.0a) was released in July 2021.
What are the benefits of NVMe?
When it comes to scalability, latency, and overall performance, NVMe emerges as the clear winner when compared to older SATA and SAS options. For example, it can sustain sequential write speeds several times faster than its older competitors.
In a technology landscape increasingly dominated by solid state drives, it offers many benefits that SATA and SAS, which were made for less demanding HDD applications, cannot match. But let’s go into more detail about these benefits.
1. High performance flash memory
NVMe allows businesses to take advantage of high-performance flash memory. While SATA works well with hard disk drives (HDDs) and has grown to meet the I/O needs of SSDs, it still has a number of inefficiencies when used with modern flash-based SSDs. NVMe, on the other hand, offers multiple data streams that allow full utilization of CPU and GPU resources.
2. Data division and simplification
Built for speed, NVMe allows for the splitting and simplification of data so that it can all be written simultaneously. This means NVMe offers many times the bandwidth, multicore support and latency improvements.
3. Support different form factors and connections
The specification also supports different form factors and connections, allowing a versatile combination of flash-based options for any storage platform. NVMe comes with several commands that allow direct communication between NVMe hosts and SSDs.
This creates faster interfaces and streamlined workflows for writing and reading data to solid state storage. PCIe and NVMe eliminate bottlenecks caused by inefficient SATA buses, improving data storage and management and optimizing system performance.
4. Reduction of energy consumption
With faster read/write times, data centers adopting NVMe experience a reduction in power consumption. Data persistence in flash memory is almost completely immutable, which reduces the chances of a disaster.
NVMe also uses solid-state components that barely move, make noise, or dissipate heat. This ensures little wear and tear, allowing you to take full advantage of your data center infrastructure investment.
The NVMe cloud is becoming the standard for companies that need to process large amounts of data quickly. Improved data access, application performance and processing speeds have made it an ideal choice for data-driven organizations. To implement this type of solution efficiently and meet your performance and business requirements, it is essential to rely on a company that specializes in hosting, such as ValueHost.
Want to take that next step safely? Get in touch with us and find out how we can help you!
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