NVMe SSD Classification
NVM Express® technology is driving the next generation of SSDs for data centers. NVMe® SSDs are not limited by legacy form factors or protocols, and they can better address the needs of servers and storage in enterprise and hyperscale data centers. Each of these use cases has distinct requirements and application environments, and they are outlined in the table below. There will always be exceptions to these guidelines, but these are generally fit profiles for NVMe SSD classification.
| NVMe SSD Classification | Enterprise Server | Enterprise Storage | Data Center / Hyperscale Server | Data Center / Hyperscale Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applications / Use Cases |
Traditional DAS/RAID CRM/ERM/collaborative/ HCI |
AFA Cache |
Boot Cloud data storage Server data storage |
durable storage, RAID, EC, JBOD/JBOF |
| Power | 12-25W | 12-25W | 8.25-11W (M.2), 12-25W (E1.S), 12-25W (U.2) | 12-25W (E1.S), 25W (E1.L) |
| Performance | high performance, read intensive and mixed workload class drives, and best in class sets targets | high performance, mixed workload, and best in class sets targets | IOPS/TB scaling, mixed workloads | read bandwidth, seq write (ZNS) |
| Latency | Care about ave latency. Better than SAS/SATA |
Mixed workload QoS | Read QoS, tail latencies | read priority |
| Endurance | 1 (mainstream/RI),3 (MU) | 1 (mainstream/RI),3 (MU) | <=1 DWPD | <1 DWPD |
| Capacity | 1-8TB (2020) | 2-16TB (2020) | 1-2TB (2020) > 4TB 2021-22 | 4-8TB TLC, >8TB QLC |
| Form Factors | 2.5” (U.2), E3.S, E3.L | 2.5” (U.2), E3.S, E3.L | M.2->E1.S U.2 (7 &15 mm-Z) |
U.2, E1.L, E1.S |
| Management | NVMe-MI (OOB), Swordfish (NVMe-oF) | NVMe-MI (OOB), Swordfish (NVMe-oF) | NVMe CLI (IB via SW), NVMe-MI basic for temp only (BMC) | NVMe CLI (IB via SW) |
| Features | Security, manageability | Dual-port X8/16 PCIe AIC Higher price (>SAS) Up to 30TB |
Single-port QoS Sets / IOD Latency, TRIM performance Multi-tenancy |
ZNS, SDS |
| SSD Vendor Examples | Enterprise Server | Enterprise Storage | Data Center / Hyperscale Server | Data Center / Hyperscale Storage |
| KIOXIA | CM6, CD6 | CM6 | XD5 | XD5 |
| Intel | P4510 (3.0), P5500 (4.0) | D4510 (3.0) | P4510 (3.0) | P4326 (QLC, 3.0) |
| Samsung | PM1733/5, SZ1735 | PM1733/5, SZ1735 | PM9A3 | PM9A3 |