Simplifying Data Integrity Checks Using Computational Storage in NVMe® Devices

By: Jason Molgaard and Scott Shadley, Solidigm

Transferring data that is processed across the cloud, AI/ML applications and enterprise data centers requires frequent monitoring of the integrity of the data. To address the increased data growth, NVM Express developed NVM Express® Computational Storage. Computational Storage completes computational processes typically completed by the host on NVMe® devices, freeing up host compute resources, host memory utilization and overall network bandwidth.

As an NVM Express member company, Solidigm is pleased to utilize NVMe Computational Storage to support enterprise and hyperscale data center customers.

Offloading Data Integrity Checks to the Device

Solidigm is currently utilizing NVMe Computational Storage to perform cyclic redundancy checks (CRC), a form of data integrity, on the drive instead of on the host. These checks enable data centers to verify data integrity and are vital to avoid unexpected data changes within the NVMe storage device.

Using NVMe Computational Storage, our devices can complete the same CRC comparison on the drive instead of the host, ensuring that only the result of the comparison is transferred to the host. This removes the need for the host to complete any calculations and avoids moving data off the drive to perform a check. Our approach also frees up the host and improves overall network bandwidth, boosting efficiency and performance within the data center while maintaining the integrity of the data itself.

Many markets can experience significant benefits with our Computational Storage application, including cloud solutions, AI/ML platforms, and enterprise markets. As data centers increasingly process significant volumes of real-time data-intensive use cases, these markets must find ways to enhance the efficiency of data movement. Our solution uses Computational Storage to help these markets free up fabric utilization and compute resources for the host, boosting performance across the data center for modern applications.   

Learn More About Computational Storage

Jason recently participated in Part 2 of the NVM Express Computational Storage video series to highlight the importance of Solidigm’s Computational Storage use case. We encourage you to watch the video on the NVM Express YouTube channel to learn more. You can also access the Computational Programs Command Set and Subsystem Local Memory Command Set on the NVM Express website to discover more about Computational Storage.