Hi all- I'd like to propose we talk about the PCIe-NVMe HDD this year. The topic comes up informally from time to time, but now that we have products with actual delivery schedules I think it would be valuable to discuss the impact to our systems. Background: NVMe specification has hardened over the decade and now NVMe devices are well integrated into our customers’ systems. I think moving HDDs to the PCIe/NVMe interface is the next logical step. Consolidating on a single API for rotational and static storage technologies. PCIe-NVMe offers SATA-level costs while supporting features and performance suitable for high-cap HDDs, and optimal interoperability for storage automation, tiering, and common management tools. We will share some early integration results, and review the OCP design guidelines, but really don't want to turn this into a status report or marketing blitz. HDDs, PCIe, and NVMe are all mature technologies, but the combination is new. We are looking to the experts to help us anticipate the challenges and benefits. Discussion Proposal: -What Linux storage stack pitfalls do we need to be aware of as we field these devices with drastically different performance characteristics than traditional NAND? For example, what schedular or device driver level changes will be needed to integrate NVMe HDDs? -Are there NVMe feature trade-offs that make sense for HDDs that won’t break the HDD-SSD interoperability goals? -How would multi-actuator HDDs be presented under NVMe? Namespace-per-actuator? -NVMe HDD power management proposals. This might turn out to be the hardest part. -NVMe HDD System architecture (maybe, if there is interest?) Thanks, and best regards, Tim Walker
