What is NVMe?

NVMe SSDs can deliver faster response times than traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) because of changes to the device driver that allow for parallelism and polling. These improvements help reduce latency and make them ideal for enterprise workloads and consumer and professional applications. This versatility cuts across a wide range of industries, from gaming and mobile technologies to e-commerce, finance and healthcare platforms.

Today’s demand for scalable, high-performance storage solutions continues to grow. In a report from Research and Markets, the global market for NVMe was valued at USD 212 billion in 2024. The value is projected to reach USD 888.9 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27% from 2024–2030.¹

Artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) applications are driving this expansion, with NVMe and other technologies enabling the speed and efficiency these workloads require.

NVMe was developed from 2008–2011 to replace Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) protocols. NVMe’s improvements over its competitors have made it the industry standard for high-speed storage.

Today, users demand faster response times than ever from their applications. The NVMe protocol was built to deliver a next-generation, high-performance, high-bandwidth and low-latency experience, regardless of the type of application a user is deploying.

NVMe SSDs access flash storage primarily through a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) bus that removes the “middle-man” controller. However, NVMe can also run on any type of “fabric” interconnect (NVMe-oF)—such as Fibre Channel and Ethernet—and within Ethernet, iWarp, RoCEv2, iSER and NVMe-TCP.

NVMe SSDs can run tens of thousands of parallel command queues. They can also run programs at faster speeds than drives connected by using the SCSI protocol, which can deploy only a single command queue. The connection method is independent of the protocol. For example, PCIe SSDs that use NVMe can connect a single drive with a PCIe link running the NVMe protocol.

NVMe was built for high-performance, non-volatile storage media, making it ideal for today’s demanding, compute-intensive environments like graphics editing software, cloud computing environments, firmware and large databases. NVMe deals with enterprise workloads swiftly and efficiently with a smaller infrastructure footprint and less power than SCSI.

Non-volatile memory express (NVMe) and solid-state drives (SSDs) are frequently used to describe two different types of drives. However, they are distinct types of data storage technology that can be used to enhance each other. 

SSDs are semiconductor-based storage devices that rely on flash memory to store persistent data in computer systems. In an SSD, each memory chip is built out of blocks that contain cells (also known as pages or sectors) that contain bits of memory. Unlike magnetic storage, such as HDDs and diskette drives that store data by using magnets, SSDs use NAND chips. This non-volatile storage technology doesn’t require any power to maintain its data.

All NVMe devices are SSDs. However, not all SSDs use PCIe technology; some SSDs still use the older SATA and SAS interfaces that were originally designed for HDD devices.

To learn more, check out SSD versus NVMe: What’s the difference?

Back when hard disk drives (HDDs) were the industry-preferred method of storing and accessing data, SATA and SAS were appropriate solutions. SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) was designed to connect storage devices that use the ATA protocol, while SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) was designed as a SCSI-based interface. Both were optimized for the mechanical nature of HDDs.

Until recently, most SSDs used SAS or SATA to connect with the rest of a computer system. However, with the rise in solid-state technology across the storage industry, SAS and SATA became more of an awkward fit because they are designed for HDDs.

Lastly, NVMe was designed specifically for SSDs, and its protocol is more streamlined than SCSI, making it a better solution for real-time applications, such as machine learning (ML) and AI.

With the increasing popularity of cloud computing, NVMe supports hybrid cloud, multicloud and mainframe storage environments because of its built-in high performance and data protection features.

NVMe (non-volatile memory express) was invented as a better data storage and transfer option than SATA for SSDs in environments where large data transfers were needed without slowing down processing times. 

NVMe enables SSDs to connect directly to the CPU by using the PCIe bus and an M.2 or U.2 adapter—the same as with a SATA drive. NVMe allows SSDs to connect right into the CPU through the PCIe interface, enabling them to read and write large volumes of data swiftly.

To achieve higher performance, NVMe defines a register interface, command set and group of features for PCIe-based SSDs. When connected through the PCIe bus, the NVMe protocol facilitates lower latency and helps optimize I/O operations per second (IOPS). Current NVMe drives use PCIe Gen 4 or Gen 5, allowing for maximum performance.

NVMe drivers support many kinds of operating systems (OS), including Windows, Linux and macOS. Finally, NVMe protocol supports all kinds of NVM, including NAND flash-enabled SSDs. Also, NVMe uses parallel command queues and a “polling loop” rather than its predecessors’ “interrupt”-based device driver. This approach reduces latency and system overheads, helping to avoid CPU bottlenecks and improve overall throughput.

Another important differentiator of NVMe specifications is its form factor, or the way size, configuration and physical design impact its compatibility with other devices. In 2020, the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) convened to establish the Enterprise and Datacenter Standard Form Factor (EDSFF) to create an agreed-upon, industry-wide framework for SSD technology.

The agreed-upon standard form factor for an SSD is 2.5 inches, which easily fits into the drive bay of most laptops and desktops, making NVMe SSDs highly compatible with existing technology. Because the 2.5-inch drive is widely used in both consumer and commercial computing environments, replacing an HDD with an NVMe SSD is simple and straightforward for users wanting to upgrade their system’s performance.

One of the most widely used form factors for SSDs, M.2 is a physical connector standard. While the term is often used in discussions with NVMe-based drives, NVMe in this context refers to the physical form factor rather than the protocol itself.

NVMe SSDs can attach to a PCIe slot on a system board for maximum performance. However, M.2 is a compact form factor that enables high-performance storage in thin and light devices, such as laptops and tablets.

For a more in-depth explanation of NVMe and M.2, read: NVMe vs. M.2: What’s the difference?

Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) is a widely used type of random-access memory (RAM) that personal computers (PCs), servers and workstations rely on. NVMe SSDs come in both DRAM and DRAM-less varieties. 

NVMe SSDs with DRAM are more expensive and faster than DRAM-less ones, and they are a better option for graphics-intensive applications like photo or video editing software. DRAM-less NVMes are more affordable and slower, but still much faster than HDDs or SATA SSDs. These aspects make them good options for users who don’t need as much speed or performance for the applications they’re running.

NVMe-oF (non-volatile memory express over fabrics) is a protocol specification that connects hosts to shared storage with network fabrics (for example, Ethernet, Fibre Channel, RDMA), enabling high-speed, low-latency communication.

While NVMe connects directly through PCIe with one drive and one host, NVMe over Fabrics servers work across networks with greater reach. NVMe-oF has not replaced NVMe but rather complements it by enabling NVMe performance over network-attached shared storage.

Here are some top benefits of NVMe storage over SAS or SATA SSD drives:

• Better performance: NVMe technology can use a PCIe to connect SSD storage directly to a server or central processing unit/processor (CPU). This marked improvement in NVMe performance has made it the preferred data storage and transfer option for gamers, video editors and other users who require higher performance than SAS or SATA HDDs can offer.

• Higher speed: NVMe drives can deliver higher speeds than SAS or SATA drives because they can send and receive NVMe commands faster and deliver better throughput.

• Increased compatibility: NVMe offers significant performance over SAS/SATA and is frequently updated to support critical, fast-moving technologies, such as AI, ML and cloud computing. It is supported by modern operating systems (OS), including mobile platforms, and is used in laptops and gaming consoles.

• Improved bandwidth: The PCIe connection is wider and has more bandwidth than SAS or SATA ports. It also improves with each generation, doubling the bandwidth of the previous generation. SAS and SATA have lower bandwidth connections and are fixed, so they don’t improve over time. Another feature that makes PCIe connections stand apart is that they are scalable in “lanes,” so even in the same generation, users can double the bandwidth with twice the number of lanes. For a deeper dive into NVMe and SATA, check out “NVMe versus SATA: What’s the difference?

NVMe’s low-latency, power efficiency and ability to store and transfer data at a faster rate than SAS and SATA drives make it a strong choice for both business and consumer uses. In addition to boosting performance and data storage capacity, NVMe SSDs are more widely available than SAS or SATA SSDs and are available from consumer companies, including Intel and Samsung.

Here are a few common NVMe use-cases.

NVMe’s high speed, programmability and capacity to handle parallel processing make it ideal for a wide range of high-performance computing (HPC) applications, including high-frequency trading, AI and ML.

Many cutting-edge applications require a large queue depth for storage. Unlike its SAS/SATA predecessors, NVMe can hold up to 65,000 queues and commands per queue, allowing for far more commands to be processed simultaneously. 

NVMe SSDs help data centers expand their data storage capacity and deliver higher performance at a comparable price to SATA SSDs, leading many modern enterprises to make the switch.

According to an Enterprise Strategy Group report, nearly three-quarters of organizations are either using NVMe-based SSD storage or are planning to deploy it in the next 12 months.²

Whether one is editing a video of a family reunion or working on an animated feature film, NVMe’s faster data transfer rates dramatically speed up video editing. Simply put, editing and rendering a scene in video editing software generates a lot of data. An NVMe SSD can handle all this data without slowing the process down.

Deploying NVMe in containerized DevOps applications has shortened the time of large builds and sped coding iterations for many developers. 

NVMe is also making development faster and less expensive, helping teams start apps faster with a wider array of tools at their disposal.

NVMe-based systems accelerate application performance and reduce the number of physical servers needed for relational databases, enabling organizations to process queries more efficiently and at lower infrastructure costs.

In virtualized environments (for example, VMware, VDI), NVMe reduces storage latency and eliminates I/O bottlenecks that occur when multiple virtual machines (VMs) compete for storage resources.

Also, NVMe enables processing thousands of commands at once, which allows servers to support more VMs while maintaining speed and reliability.

High-speed NVMe SSDs accelerate the training of ML and AI models by providing rapid access to large datasets. This supports natural language processing (NLP) and predictive analytics, where real-time decision-making is required for workloads related to AI-powered medical diagnostics and financial modeling.