The updated NVMe 1.3 specification introduces new features to fast SSDs

Dmitry Nosachev via Wikimedia. Click for original. (Image credit: Dmitry Nosachev via Wikimedia)

NVM Express has published a major update to the NVMe specification that adds a handful of optional features to the protocol. The new 1.3 revision is the first significant update in nearly two and a half years and it comes right as NVMe is starting to squeeze into the mainstream market.

Cost is still the primary roadblock preventing NVMe solid state drives from overthrowing SATA-based SSDs, at least in the consumer market. Even though the best NVMe drives are typically much faster than their SATA-based brethren, the difference in performance is only truly noticeable in certain situations rather than across the board. This is different from upgrading a mechanical hard drive to an SSD where the performance gains can be felt even when just navigating Windows.

That said, the 1.3 revision brings some welcome changes to the protocol. One of them is a self-test feature that is similar to SMART. This allows the host machine to tell the drive to initiate a self-test without having to mount volumes. Exactly what gets tested is up to the vendor, though it's reasonable to expect short and extended tests to determine data integrity and potential hardware failures.

The new protocol also adds support for boot partitions that do not need to be stored in UEFI firmware. Drives that implement the feature will also have two boot partitions to reduce the risk of failure during a botched firmware upgrade. How this works is updates get applied to the secondary partition, and once the data is verified, the drive can swap which partition is active.

According to AnandTech, this latter feature is not something that will be useful or even implemented on user-upgradeable drives, but it's a feature that will help cut costs in embedded systems that use NVMe BGA SSDs for high performance storage.

The 1.3 revision also calls for a Sanitize feature that is a carryover from other storage standards. It is a more secure way of erasing data, as it wipes the data clean not only from the main NAND flash memory chips, but also the controller memory buffer and the drive's various caches. The feature also lets the host specify exactly how the data should be wiped, whether it's through block erase operations, overwriting, or destroying the encryption key.

These are the most interesting updates to the protocol, though you can read about all of them in this PDF.

Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).

Latest in SSDs
Crucial X9 external SSD on blue background
You can pick up the 2 TB version of my favorite budget external SSD for less than $0.06 per GB, transfers 300+ GB of data in 6 minutes
A Samsung 9100 Pro SSD in both 2 TB and 4 TB sizes.
Samsung 9100 Pro 2 TB SSD review
An image of a WD_Black SN850X SSD against a teal background with a white border
The best 1 TB gaming SSD you can buy is now just $79, the cheapest it's been for a good while
WD Black SN850X SSD on a gaming PC case.
Looks like we won't be seeing Western Digital SSDs in our gaming PCs as the company hands the reins back over to SanDisk
A SanDisk Desk Drive external SSD on a blue background
I adore this chunky, reliable external SSD, so for a third off the 4 TB version I will absolutely recommend it in a heartbeat
The WD Black SN850X 8 TB out of the packaging.
If you thought PCIe Gen 5 SSDs were a little pointless, don't worry, here comes 32 GB's worth of Gen 6 technology
Latest in News
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
Starfield: Shattered Space
By the time Bethesda was on Starfield, you'd 'basically get in trouble' for breaking schedule, says former dev: 'A lot of the great stuff within Skyrim came from having the freedom to do what you want'
Otter AI Meeting Agent
As if your work meetings weren't already fun enough, now Otter has a new all-hearing AI agent that remembers everything anyone has said and can join in the discussion
Monster Hunter Wilds' stockpile master studying a manifest
As layoffs and studio closures continue to deathroll the western AAA industry, analyst points out 5 of 8 major Japanese companies hit all-time share prices this year
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Ogryn
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide adds a psychic horde murderzone mode and makes Ogryns even smashier
A woman wearing a VR headset with dramatic, colourful lighting across the background
'World’s smallest LEDs' could lead to accurately lit screens with 127,000 pixels per inch and much more immersive VR