NVM Express Work Group Incorporates as NVM Express Organization

The NVM Express Work Group, developer of the NVM Express specification for accessing SSDs on a PCIe bus, announced its incorporation as the NVM Express Organization.

The work group’s transition to an incorporated industry association indicates the member companies’ commitment to continue delivering technology and high-quality specifications that meet the needs of the changing storage market.

“Incorporation as an organization shows the maturation of NVM Express, while still providing the flexibility required to deliver storage solutions for this and the next generation of PCIe-based storage solutions,” said Scott Tracy, VP, storage software, Oracle Corp. “From its inception, the NVM Express Work Group has been committed to fostering quality and interoperability in products that will carry the storage industry into the next decade. We look forward to continuing this charter as an incorporated organization.“

NVM Express is a standardized register interface, command and feature set for PCIe-based storage solutions, such as SSDs architected specifically for non-volatile memory. It is optimized for high performance and low latency, scaling from client to enterprise segments.

The NVM Express Organization is currently developing revision 1.2 of the base specification, which adds new capabilities.

In addition, the organization is also standardizing in-band and out-of-band management of PCIe SSDs (e.g., LEDs, thermal control, etc.).

These specifications are targeted for release in the second half of 2014.

“Our transformation to an incorporated NVM Express Organization shows our members’ dedication to the future of this technology,” said Ed Doller, VP and chief memory systems architect, Micron Technology, Inc.‘s storage business segment. “The new organizational structure is long-term, self-sustaining and it empowers the NVM Express community to build robust specifications for PCIe SSDs and future generations of storage. The NVM Express Organization will continue to maintain and develop specifications, and promote and market the benefits of NVM Express.“

New organization will continue to be led by current promoters:

• Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Dell, Inc.
• EMC Corp.
• HGST Inc., a Western Digital Co.
• Intel Corp.
• LSI Corp.
• Micron Technology, Inc.
• NetApp, Inc.; Oracle; PMC-Sierra, Inc.
• Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
• SanDisk Corp. and
• Seagate Technology, Inc.

The NVM Express Organization incorporated in Delaware and has applied for non-profit status.