As we all know, SAS SSD supports formatting as 520 bytes/sector, but the enterprise NVME SSD of the U.2 interface generally only supports 512B and 4096B , and the NVME CLI does not see any command that supports custom sector size. Can it be formatted as 520 bytes? Does any body know? Hope, thank you in advance.
Does U2 NVME enterprise SSD support 520B sector size?
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A customer wants to upgrade his previous hard disk. It used to be a SAS solid state drive with a 520B sector size. Now he wants to change the solid state drive with an NVME U.2 interface, but he still needs a 520B sector size, so I have this question and want to know if it can be solved. Thank you for your reply.
The only reference I found for 520b sectors on nvme ssds is a pdf on russian websites for the ocz z-drive 6000 series u.2 ssd (from 2016). But it's annotated that this feature would come later.
So in theory there should be nvme ssds out there with support for custom sector sizes, but you will have to contact the vendors to verify the support in firmware.
So in theory there should be nvme ssds out there with support for custom sector sizes, but you will have to contact the vendors to verify the support in firmware.
If the drive supports it, the `nvme` tool on Linux can reformat it. e.g.:
# nvme id-ns -H /dev/nvme0n1
...
LBA Format 0 : Metadata Size: 0 bytes - Data Size: 512 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best
LBA Format 1 : Metadata Size: 8 bytes - Data Size: 512 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best
LBA Format 2 : Metadata Size: 0 bytes - Data Size: 1 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best
LBA Format 3 : Metadata Size: 0 bytes - Data Size: 4096 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best (in use)
LBA Format 4 : Metadata Size: 8 bytes - Data Size: 4096 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best
LBA Format 5 : Metadata Size: 64 bytes - Data Size: 4096 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best
So we can see that this drive supports 512, 512+8, 4096, 4104, and 4160. This isn't mentioned in the datasheet.
Then it can be formatted with `nvme format --lbaf=X /dev/nvme0n1`, in this case X would be 1 from the table above.
On a consumer grade drive which does not support 520:
# nvme id-ns -H /dev/nvme0n1
...
LBA Format 0 : Metadata Size: 0 bytes - Data Size: 512 bytes - Relative Performance: 0x1 Better (in use)
LBA Format 1 : Metadata Size: 0 bytes - Data Size: 4096 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best
# nvme id-ns -H /dev/nvme0n1
...
LBA Format 0 : Metadata Size: 0 bytes - Data Size: 512 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best
LBA Format 1 : Metadata Size: 8 bytes - Data Size: 512 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best
LBA Format 2 : Metadata Size: 0 bytes - Data Size: 1 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best
LBA Format 3 : Metadata Size: 0 bytes - Data Size: 4096 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best (in use)
LBA Format 4 : Metadata Size: 8 bytes - Data Size: 4096 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best
LBA Format 5 : Metadata Size: 64 bytes - Data Size: 4096 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best
So we can see that this drive supports 512, 512+8, 4096, 4104, and 4160. This isn't mentioned in the datasheet.
Then it can be formatted with `nvme format --lbaf=X /dev/nvme0n1`, in this case X would be 1 from the table above.
On a consumer grade drive which does not support 520:
# nvme id-ns -H /dev/nvme0n1
...
LBA Format 0 : Metadata Size: 0 bytes - Data Size: 512 bytes - Relative Performance: 0x1 Better (in use)
LBA Format 1 : Metadata Size: 0 bytes - Data Size: 4096 bytes - Relative Performance: 0 Best
@
Thank you very much. So, Metadata Size: 8 bytes - Data Size: 512 bytes, can 512 + 8 be understood as 520 bytes? Just like the following 4096 + 8 is 4104 bytes?
Thank you very much. So, Metadata Size: 8 bytes - Data Size: 512 bytes, can 512 + 8 be understood as 520 bytes? Just like the following 4096 + 8 is 4104 bytes?
Thank you for solving a problem that has puzzled me for a long time.
Many thanks for your kind and warm help.You might need to dig a little deeper; being able to format to your required "sector size" is clearly necessary, but it might not be sufficient. In the output of the command that @mattventura provided, see also the
@mattventura What device has that
) [My D7-P5510 does have the other 4.]
mc: field, the dpc: field, and (maybe) the dps: field. These are all described in the NVMe Specifications, all revisions of which are available at nvmexpress.org@mattventura What device has that
option? Maximal flexibility--albeit minimal performance & efficiency. Still, I like it ("Better to have and not need, than to need and not have."
) [My D7-P5510 does have the other 4.]It's a KCM51VUG1T60. Datasheet doesn't mention it, and I can't find any information about what a 1 byte LBA format actually does.You might need to dig a little deeper; being able to format to your required "sector size" is clearly necessary, but it might not be sufficient. In the output of the command that @mattventura provided, see also themc:field, thedpc:field, and (maybe) thedps:field. These are all described in the NVMe Specifications, all revisions of which are available at nvmexpress.org
@mattventura What device has that
option? Maximal flexibility--albeit minimal performance & efficiency. Still, I like it ("Better to have and not need, than to need and not have."
Come to think of it, OP, how is the SSD being attached? 520b is usually only found on hardware RAID.
You might need to dig a little deeper; being able to format to your required "sector size" is clearly necessary, but it might not be sufficient. In the output of the command that @mattventura provided, see also themc:field, thedpc:field, and (maybe) thedps:field. These are all described in the NVMe Specifications, all revisions of which are available at nvmexpress.org
@mattventura What device has that
option? Maximal flexibility--albeit minimal performance & efficiency. Still, I like it ("Better to have and not need, than to need and not have."
Yes, you are right, I will check the detailed explanation of NVME related commands.Besides,"Better to have and not need, than to need and not have." Can't be more right.
Well, it seems that whether it can support 520 mainly depends on the hard disk itself. But it seems that there are very few NVME solid state drives that support 520 on the market, right? In addition, "hdm" is not a commonly used software, and it cannot be installed using "apt install hdm"?