NVMe Over Fabrics (NVMe-oF) Unveiled: Navigating Its Definition and Benefits
You must be wondering what is the meaning of this complicated term and what are use cases of it. So, NVMe over Fabrics or NVMe-oF is not as complex as it may sound, it is simply a protocol that uses an NVMe network to connect host and storage.
NVMe-oF enables message-based commands to transfer the data from a host computer to a storage device using Fibre Channel, InfiniBand, Ethernet, etc. This protocol is primarily used for data storage and improvement in application performance.
In this article, we will explore the benefits and use cases of NVMe-oF in detail. After reading this comprehensive article on Non-Volatile Memory Express over Fabrics’ protocol, you will be able to use this protocol easily.
What Is Meant by NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF)?
NVMe-oF is a data storage and transfer protocol specially designed for solid-state drives to speed up the response time and data access. It uses network fabrics such as Ethernet and fiber channels to increase the benefits of the protocol through the network.
Using a local area network, enterprises use NVMe-oF to transfer data between servers and computers. NVMe-oF helps businesses build high-performance storage data with low latency by reducing CPU use.
NVMe over Fabrics vs. NVMe
Around 90% of the features of both protocols are similar, however, some basic differences are there in their use cases. NVMe-oF was initially introduced to increase the functionality and benefits of NVMe. Let’s go through the key differences between both protocols:
| Difference | NVMe-oF | NVMe |
| Scalability | The scalability in NVMe-oF is very flexible because the data storage is centralized, and every client can access that | You only have to increase the number of NVMe drives or the capacity of existing drives for flexibility. |
| Deployment | It is used in the condition when storage needs to be shared among multiple systems and servers. | Generally, it is used in local storage conditions where the storage device is directly connected to the host or server. |
| Transport Protocol | It uses network fabrics like Ethernet, InfiniBand, or fibre channels. | NVMe uses the high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard, which is PCIe. |
Understanding the dynamics of NVMe and NVMe-oF is necessary to decide which protocol your business needs for storage requirements.
NVMe-oF Benefits
There are plenty of benefits to using the NVMe-oF protocol as a storage solution for your business. Here we are discussing the 3 paramount benefits of all.
Low Latency:
NVMe-oF bypasses the traditional storage protocols and enables direct memory access between the storage device and server using the network. This direct access decreases data access latency and improves the application performance.
High Throughput:
This new-age protocol provides higher throughput compared to traditional protocols like SCSI or SAS. NVMe-oF is capable of efficient utilization of network bandwidth and handling multiple I/O requests, thus it provides high throughput.
Flexibility:
NVMe-oF protocol provides a flexible infrastructural design because it disintegrates the storage resources from computer resources. This flexibility allows enterprises to easily expand their storage capacity and improve application performance.
Interesting Fact
According to 60% of C-Suite executives, security is the paramount reason they opt for cloud computing. Human errors cause most of the security breaches and data leaks and cloud computing works on automation, thus no chance of security threats.
Use Cases of NVMe-oF
This protocol is used in a variety of industries and use cases. Here we are mentioning the 3 main use cases of NVMe-oF in which it is working as a game changer.
Data Center Consolidation:
The features of the new age protocol NVMe-oF help the data center network in the consolidation of storage resources. Multiple servers can access the remote storage device using this protocol, and businesses can customize high and low-latency access tailored to specific applications and workloads.
High-Performance Computing:
Companies that work in High-Performance Computing environments are rapidly adopting the NVMe-oF protocol. HPC environment low latency and fast data access to run complex simulations, perform scientific tasks, data analysis, etc. and NVMe-oF provides these features.
Cloud Service Providers: Companies working in the cloud service industry use NVMe-oF protocol to deliver high-performance cloud storage services to their clients. This protocol helps these companies to provide storage services with low latency and high throughput, which is the need of modern cloud applications.
Conclusion
The modern protocol NVMe-oF has significantly changed the data storage industry. This innovation provides a variety of data storage features to different businesses. Enterprises use this protocol to support their high-performance computing environment.
Cloud service provider businesses adopted NVMe-oF because of its features like fast data access, low latency, and flexibility. In this article, we went through a detailed overview of NVMe-oF and also compared it with NVMe.
You can choose from both protocols according to your data storage needs. If you find this article helpful, share it with others.
