QEMU-NVMe Protocol Simulator for Shift-Left Test Development

NVMe technology is rapidly evolving to bridge gaps in memory industry, NVMe spec.1.4 is already out and next refracted version is in pipeline. Realization of new features into real device will take longer time and face challenges like cross/legacy module impact and functional blockage. Readiness of Host Test Infrastructure & keeping the tests ready before the actual Firmware/Hardware availability is critical and helps in early time to market.

The proposed NVMe Protocol Simulator enables shift left development of host test framework in parallel without dependency on hardware /firmware for new Features. This solution will also enable coverage for corner case scenarios & device limited scenarios like 64k IO Queues, Memory Address Ranges, etc. NVMe protocol simulator is based on QEMU has advantage of emulating the NVMe drive as PCIe Device, this will enable ‘As-Is’ usage of host test infra between Simulator and real SSD. QEMU supporting PCIe emulation enables the support of all types of Resets from NVMe Compliance front.
NVMe protocol simulator solution provides a cost effective way of early development of host test infrastructure and tests for new NVMe features. In addition, early detection of Errata during development of Simulator.