NVM Express: Pending Availability of NVMe Management Interface 1.1 Spec

NVM Express, Inc. announced the pending availability of the NVMe Management Interface (NVMe-MI) specification.

The NVMe-MI 1.1 release standardizes NVMe enclosure management, provides the ability to access NVMe-MI functionality in-band and delivers new management features for multiple NVMe subsystem SSD deployments.

The offering opens collection of NVM Express (NVMe) specifications and resources on the benefits of non-volatile memory, completed technical work on NVMe-MI 1.1 and the specification is in the ratification process with availability anticipated in 60 days. The management features offer NVMe end-users and OEMs more control and flexibility.

“The NVMe-MI 1.1 specification defines essential management elements requested by the growing NVMe ecosystem,” said Peter Onufryk, board member, NVMe and NVMe-MI workgroup chair. “For example, we didn’t have a defined standard to manage NVMe enclosures, and now we have a standard that member companies can map to.“

The in-band NVMe-MI feature allows OSs and applications to tunnel NVMe-MI Commands through an NVMe driver. The primary use for in-band NVMe-MI is to allow OSs and applications to achieve parity with the management capabilities that are available out-of-band with a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC).

“NVMe-MI 1.1 furthers the management capabilities for NVM Express devices by enabling enclosure management for NVMe storage arrays (like JBOFs) and provides unified management for multi-NVMe device subsystems, like multiple M.2 NVMe SSDs on a PCIe carrier add-in-card,” said Jonmichael Hands, product manager, non-volatile nemory solutions group, Intel Corp., and co-chair, marketing, NVM Express, Inc.

“The types of NVMe devices that are being developed and the use cases for NVMe continue to expand as NVMe gains popularity in the industry,” said Austin Bolen, vice chair, workgroup NVMe-MI, and server storage technologist, Dell EMC, part of Dell Technologies. “The NVMe Management Interface is evolving with the release of the 1.1 version of the specification to meet the manageability needs and reduce the TCO related to these new NVMe device types and use cases.“