A New Tool For Data Centers and Cloud Storage: PCIe 5.0 SSD
With the emergence of AI and Machine Learning (ML), data centers and storage servers now need higher performance, lower latency, and higher speed transmission to deal with large amounts of data processing. Nowadays, the demand for storage capacity and performance is gradually becoming higher and PCIe 5.0 is now being adopted more and more into computer systems and servers.
The transmission speeds of PCIe 5.0 is twice as fast as PCIe 4.0. Based on these advantages, manufacturers have begun to make PCIE 5.0 SSDs. Choosing a reliable, stable, and high-performance SSD has become a major challenge for server manufacturers and brands.
Potential Risks and Solutions for PCIe 5.0 SSD
Product verification for PCIe 5.0 SSDs is usually a major challenge for manufacturers. If unverified products are put into computer systems or servers, it’s basically an unstable time bomb that could affect the entire system’s efficiency at any time. In some cases, the transmission performance will be reduced and it will not meet user expectations due to delays in response time. In more serious cases, it could affect the product life of the server or system and will have a high risk of crashing. How can we ensure the SSD we pick is reliable, stable, and has high performance? In this article, Allion’s consulting team will provide you with the solutions.
Allion has decades of experience with SSD product verification. We were one of the first to work with SANBlaze who invested heavily in the PCIe 5.0 SSD verification platform SANBlaze RM5. This platform is a 16-slot NVMe testing device that is hot-swappable and supports PCIe 5.0. It also has a unique design that supports U.2/U.3, M.2, and EDSFF interfaces, which are being introduced into new servers. As seen in the figure below, PCIe 3.0 to 5.0 testing and verification services can be conducted on the SANBlaze RM5 platform.
Allion can provide clients with various verification testing services with our complete range of professional equipment, assisting them in solving issues for their verification products. The table below shows that we can conduct performance tests such as I/O command, UNH/IOL-related NVMe, and MI verification tests. We can also provide testing services for OCP 1.0 and 2.0. Verification services related to OCP 2.5 will be provided in the future once it is released.
Allion has decades of testing experience and we can assist clients with planning and designing customized testing plans and different workloads for specific user scenarios to ensure performance, endurance, and other factors so their products are properly verified. This allows our clients to avoid potential risks arising during actual usage from their consumers.
| Test Scenario | Suite List |
| Overall SSD Function/Performance/Power Testing | IOL NVMe Certification |
| NVMe Generic I/O Commands | |
| NVMe I/O Tests | |
| NVMe Resets – all supported reset methods check | |
| NVMe Namespace Management | |
| NVMe Dual Port Drive Testing | |
| NVMe SBExpress Hotplug and Link Testing | |
| NVMe Miscellaneous Commands (e.g., Controller Memory Buffer) | |
| NVMe MI Function Check | IOL NVMe MI Certification |
| NVMe MI Basic Commands | |
| NVMe MI Full Command Set | |
| NVMe MI Vendor Defined Message Physical Layer Check | NVMe MI Full Command Set VDM |
| IOL NVMe MI Certification VDM | |
| Zoned Namespaces Certication | NVMe ZNS SBCert |
| NVMe TCG Certication | NVMe TCG Opal/Ruby |
| OCP SSD Certication | OCP V1.0 sepc |
| OCP V2.0 spec | |
| Endurance Testing | SSD_Endurance JEDEC Spec JESD219A. |
Faster, Easier, Better: The Most Trusted Storage Product Testing Consultant
With plenty of experience, Allion designs customized testing plans for products like these, providing the best consulting services for our clients and helping them eliminate issues they may encounter. This ultimately reduces the possibility of users returning their purchased products.
Faster：
Allion leads the industry with high-frequency and high-speed testing equipment that helps our clients take care of various SSD product verification issues faster. If our clients have specific needs that need customized solutions, we can also propose customized solutions for them to solve their issues as soon as possible.
Easier：
We have a complete range of testing equipment that meets all of our clients’ requirements including signal issues, pre-market verification, high-temperature testing, vibration testing, drop testing, and quality inspection. Allion can provide related services to our clients so they don’t need to worry about verification testing.
Better：
Allion has high-end advanced testing equipment, professional technical teams, and a complete range of testing environments and laboratories. Once we find potential risks in our client’s products, we can immediately help them understand the possible causes. Afterward, debugging and suggested solutions are provided to help our clients make faster decisions and solve problems more efficiently.
If you have any further needs for testing, verification, or consulting services related to the server ecosystem, please feel free to explore the following services online or contact us through the online form.
- Allion Server System Integration https://www.allion.com/aiot/server-validation/
- Allion Server Validation Service https://www.allion.com.tw/server-validation/