NVM Express spec updated for data-intensive operations

This is another one of those geeky stories that actually has some significance. The Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) Express group has issued version 1.3 of its SSD spec, with emphasis on performance around analytics and virtualization.

NVMe is a communications interface/protocol designed specifically for solid-state drives (SSDs) because the old standard, SATA, was a relic of the hard disk days and nowhere near fast enough to provide proper throughput for flash memory.

The NVM Express organization consists of storage and flash vendors such as Intel, Samsung, Sandisk, Dell EM, and Seagate. NVMe works with the M.2 and PCI Express buses, which are considerably faster than SATA. For example, it can handle 65,000 queues instead of one like in SATA, which is idea for a server environment where there is a lot of I/O.

NVM Express 1.3 adds new virtualization and str