NVMe SSD Classification White Paper

NVM Express® technology is driving the next generation of SSDs for data centers. NVMe® SSDs are not limited by legacy form factors or protocols, and they can better address the needs of servers and storage in enterprise and hyperscale data centers. With the varied and dedicated use cases for NVMe SSDs, there are two classifications that generally define and segment these classes: Enterprise and Data Center.

This white paper describes use cases for NVMe SSDs used in enterprise servers, enterprise storage, data center/hyperscale servers, low latency SSD, and data center/hyperscale storage environments. Each of these use cases has distinct requirements and application environments, which are covered in requirements for form factors, power, performance, latency, endurance, capacity, management, and features. There will always be exceptions to these guidelines, but these are generally fit profiles for NVMe SSD classification

The paper is designed as a companion to the NVMe SSD Classification table.