NVMe Boot Specification

Boot

The NVM Express Boot specification was developed as part of the NVM Express® 2.0 family of specifications. It outlines a standard process for booting over the NVMe® interface, and defines the mechanism of a pre-OS environment (e.g., BIOS) to share administrative configuration specific to NVM Express interfaces (e.g., NVMe-oF/TCP Transport) to an operating system.  This well-established exchange of information permits operating systems to boot from NVM interfaces in a consistent manner.  In addition, it also includes best practices for both driver and operating system developers, as well as system administrators, on matters of interoperability in booting from NVM Express interfaces.

As of August 2024, NVMe is a set of the following eleven specifications:

  • NVM Express® Base Specification, Revision 2.1
  • Command Set Specifications:
    • NVM Express® NVM Command Set Specification, Revision 1.1
    • NVM Express® NVMe Zoned Namespaces Command Set Specification, Revision 1.2
    • NVM Express® Key Value Command Set Specification, Revision 1.1
    • NVM Express® Subsystem Local Memory Command Set Specification, Revision 1.0
    • NVM Express® Computational Programs Command Set Specification, Revision 1.0
  • Transport Specifications:
    • NVM Express® NVMe over PCIe Transport Specification, Revision 1.1
    • NVM Express® RDMA Transport Specification, Revision 1.1
    • NVM Express® TCP Transport Specification, Revision 1.1
  • NVM Express® NVM Express Management Interface Specification, Revision 2.0
  • NVM Express® NVMe Boot Specification, Revision 1.1

The NVM Express® Base Specification, Revision 2.1 reorganizes sections to distinguish requirements on functionality common to PCIe® and Fabrics implementations, specific to PCIe implementations, and specific to Fabrics implementations.