ransition to NVMe technology is end-to-end NVMe, where the storage system and the servers attaching to it are all connected via NVMe. This design should bring in-server storage performance to shared storage. Major switch vendors Cisco and Brocade have added NVMe support to their switches, and there are several NVMe host bus adapter (HBA) cards available.
Unfortunately, there are several roadblocks to end-to-end NVMe:
- Interoperability issues. Until any network card can work with any other network card and switch, deployments will go slowly.
- Infrastructure upgrades slowly. Switches and HBAs that don't support NVMe need to reach end of life, which could take years.
- Lack of need in terms of broad implementation. We are actually at a point where the network (without NVMe) and the storage (with or without) are faster than what most data centers need.
How to get started
For the few data centers taxing their current all-flash arrays and network, moving to NVMe right away might help. But they should also consider a network upgrade at the same time. There are several NVMe all-flash specialists that can either deliver a turnkey end-to-end product or have all the partnerships in place to do so.
Most data centers, however, can't take immediate advantage of NVMe, so this is not a situation where an organization needs to throw out its all-flash array and replace it with an NVMe-based all-flash array. As storage system refreshes occur, it makes sense to look for flash arrays that are at least NVMe in part. It also makes sense to make sure that any investment in network infrastructure -- be it switches or HBAs -- has NVMe compatibility built in.
NVMe is not a case of hurry up and wait; it is more a case of hurry up and plan. Now is the time to make sure future investments -- be it in storage or in infrastructure -- are ready for NVMe technology.