Skip to content

NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF): What IT Leaders Need to Know Now

Publish Date: 07-09-2025
 

Many businesses invest in NVMe drives expecting blazing speeds, but they may still face degraded performance across the network. That's because traditional storage architectures are not built to handle the heavy workloads of today, and as a result, they limit performance.

Fortunately, NVMe over Fabrics changes everything. With this technology, you can unlock the full potential of NVM Express devices across the network, without wasting investment on legacy protocols.

NVMe over Fabrics enables organizations to reduce application response time and scale storage independently from compute. It even supports artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) workloads that would crush traditional Storage Area Networks (SANs).

Let's explore this technology in greater detail.

What is NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF)?

NVMe over Fabrics is a protocol that carries the NVMe command set across high-speed network transports, or "fabric," so hosts can access remote NVMe storage with near-local performance. Instead of limiting NVMe devices to direct PCIe attachment, NVMe-oF enables you to access that same blazing performance across network fabrics.

The NVMe arrays become shareable resources, as multiple servers can tap into the same high-speed storage pool without sacrificing those microsecond response times.

The NVMe over Fabrics specification also maintains the same efficient command sets as local NVMe. You retain all those performance characteristics that make NVMe special:

  • Parallel queue architecture
  • Streamlined protocol stack
  • Direct memory access capabilities

As a result, the infrastructure is no longer confined to a single box, which means that the compute and storage can live in different racks or even different buildings.

NVMe-oF vs. Traditional NVMe: Key Differences

Traditional NVMe connects directly through PCIe with one drive and one host, which is simple but limiting.

NVMe over Fabric servers change that. Your NVMe specification now works across Ethernet, Fibre Channel, or InfiniBand networks, delivering the same protocol efficiency but with expanded reach.

Traditional NVMe:

  • Local access only
  • Single host per drive
  • Limited by PCIe slot availability
  • Scaling means buying more servers

NVMe over Fabrics:

  • Network-wide access
  • Multiple hosts share storage
  • Unlimited scaling potential
  • Add capacity without touching compute

This technology essentially turns local storage into network storage without the typical performance penalty.

Core Components of an NVMe-oF Architecture

Building an NVMe-oF infrastructure requires three critical pieces working together seamlessly.

1. NVMe Subsystems and Controllers form the foundation. Each subsystem manages a collection of namespaces (think of them as virtual drives). Controllers handle the actual I/O operations, maintaining those parallel queues that give NVMe its speed advantage.

Your subsystem might contain dozens of namespaces. Each host connects to specific namespaces based on access requirements, all managed through the same efficient framework.

2. The Storage Fabric Layer connects everything together. Whether you choose Converged Ethernet, SANs, or specialized fabrics, this layer transports NVMe commands across the network.

3. Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) Technology enables ultra-low latency communication by bypassing the traditional network stack overhead.

There are three prominent RDMA options:

  • RoCE NVMe over Fabric (RDMA over Converged Ethernet) - Works with existing Ethernet infrastructure
  • iWARP - TCP/IP compatible but less common
  • InfiniBand - Ultimate performance, but requires dedicated hardware

Transport Protocols Explained

Your choice of transport protocol determines deployment complexity and performance potential.

NVMe over Fibre Channel leverages existing SAN investments. You can keep your zoning, switches, and the management tools. Simply upgrade the firmware, and the system is operational.

NVMe over TCP requires zero special hardware, and any Ethernet network supports it. The performance won't match RDMA options, but you'll still see significant improvements over iSCSI. It's perfect for remote offices or cloud deployments where specialized hardware isn't practical.

NVMe over RoCE delivers near-InfiniBand performance on Ethernet networks. You'll need NICs with RoCE support and lossless Ethernet configuration. While the setup is more complex than TCP, the investment is worth it for latency-sensitive workloads.

Key Benefits of NVMe over Fabrics for Enterprise IT

NVMe-oF delivers several key benefits that transform how you architect solutions for enterprise IT:

  • Radical latency reduction. Latency can be as low as 10 microseconds for remote storage access, whereas a legacy SAN measures in milliseconds. That's a 100x improvement for critical workloads.
  • Massive parallelism. Each connection supports 65,535 queues with 65,535 commands each.
  • True scalability. You can add NVMe drives to your pool without tweaking servers, or upgrade compute without migrating data. This architecture thus enables independent scaling of each layer based on actual needs.
  • Investment protection. The existing NVMe infrastructure becomes a shared resource accessible to all servers in your environment, maximizing utilization and eliminating stranded capacity.

NVMe-oF in Action: Use Cases

Organizations deploy NVMe-oF for workloads that require performance beyond what traditional storage can deliver in several key use cases:

AI/ML Training benefits from massive parallel data feeds.

Real-time Analytics platforms process streaming data without buffering delays. For example, financial trading systems can make decisions in microseconds.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure delivers local-quality performance to thousands of users. With optimized virtual desktops and thin clients, organizations experience fewer complaints about slow logins or application launches.

Database Clusters achieve previously impossible Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPS).

NVMe-oF vs. Other Storage Architectures

Comparing NVMe-oF to legacy protocols reveals stark performance differences:

iSCSI can't compete on latency as it adds TCP/IP overhead that NVMe-oF avoids. In some cases, you can achieve up to 10x latency improvement switching to NVMe-oF.

Traditional Fibre Channel lacks NVMe's efficient command structure. While using the same physical network, the systems can experience vastly different performance with NVMe-oF.

SAS/SATA arrays hit limits around 100-200K IOPS. NVMe-oF clusters deliver millions of IOPS.

Deployment Considerations and Challenges

Despite all the benefits of configuration management, a successful deployment requires careful planning.

Your network must support lossless transmission for RDMA protocols. Switches need proper buffer management and flow control. Driver and firmware compatibility across vendors remains challenging, so test thoroughly before production deployment while comparing web-based and cloud-based solutions. Additionally, multi-pathing configurations need NVMe-specific awareness.

Furthermore, security models differ from traditional SANs, and in-flight encryption options vary by transport. Therefore, it's essential to follow all applicable IT infrastructure cybersecurity guidelines and plan your authentication and encryption strategy early.

Dell Technologies and NVMe-oF Integration

Dell Technologies leads NVMe-oF adoption across its portfolio.

  • Dell PowerMax arrays support NVMe over Fibre Channel natively, delivering 10M IOPS from a single array.
  • Dell VxRail clusters leverage NVMe-oF for stretched clusters and external storage. 
  • PowerEdge servers with Dell Technologies VDI Solutions include NVMe-oF-ready adapters across the line.
  • Dell OpenManage discovers and monitors NVMe-oF connections automatically.
  • Dell CloudIQ provides predictive analytics for your entire NVMe fabric.

Dell even provides end-to-end support for comprehensive storage fabric design.

Overall, NVMe-oF is transforming storage architectures worldwide. Organizations across industries are increasingly adopting NVMe-oF to accelerate everything from customer databases to AI training. 

Are you ready to eliminate your storage bottlenecks? Join the Elevate User Community for more deployment guides and expert insights.