Enable NVMe FAQs

NVMe stands for nonvolatile memory express, a communication protocol that facilitates faster and more efficient data transfer between servers and storage systems. With NVMe, data can be transferred at the highest throughput and with the fastest response times.

By enabling NVMe, the VM offers higher IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) and throughput (MB/s), which can significantly improve the performance of remote disk storage with Azure managed disks. Higher performance is especially beneficial for IO-intensive workloads that require fast and reliable data transfer to the Azure managed disks.

In Azure, the older generations (v2, v3, v4) support Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) and current generation (v5) VM series support both NVMe and SCSI storage interfaces. SCSI is a legacy standard that provides physical connectivity and data transfer between computers and peripheral devices.

Yes, Azure continues to support SCSI VMs on the older generation and current generation VM offerings in the GP (General Purpose) category, which includes the v2, v3, v4 and v5 series.

The NVMe enabled Ebsv5 series is designed to offer the highest Azure managed disk storage performance. The L series VMs are designed to offer higher IOPS and throughout on the local NVMe disks, which are ephemeral. Refer to the VM sizes documentation for details on the performance offered by the Ebsv5 and L series.

The NVMe enabled on the Ebdsv5 and Ebdsv5 sizes offer more than higher IOPS and throughput than the SCSI sizes in the same family at no extra cost. For workloads with high IO demands and requiring improved remote storage performance, we recommend trying the new NVMe sizes. For more information on the benefits of performance, see the VM spec page.

To achieve the maximum IOPS, we recommend using a 4 KiB or 8 KiB block size. For maximum performance throughput, you can choose to use one of the following block sizes: 64 KiB, 128 KiB, 256 KiB, 512 KiB or 1024 KiB. However, it's important to optimize the I/O size based on the specific requirements of your application and to use the recommended block sizes only as a guideline.

The Ebsv5 VM families are suitable for various workloads that require high I/O and improved remote storage performance. Some examples of such workloads include:

• Online transaction processing (OLTP) workloads: These workloads involve frequent, small, and fast database transactions, such as online banking, e-commerce, and point-of-sale systems.
• Online analytical processing (OLAP) workloads: These workloads involve complex queries and large-scale data processing, such as data mining, business intelligence, and decision support systems.
• Data warehousing workloads: These workloads involve collecting, storing, and analyzing large volumes of data from multiple sources, such as customer data, sales data, and financial data.
• Replication and disaster recovery workloads: These workloads involve replicating data between multiple databases or sites for backup and disaster recovery purposes.
• Database development and testing workloads: These workloads involve creating, modifying, and testing database schemas, queries, and applications.

NVMe VMs are only accessible on the platform with the 3rd Generation Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8370C (Ice Lake) processor. However, support for more platforms and generations is coming soon. Stay informed by following our product launch announcements in Azure updates.

• NVMe interface is supported only the Ebsv5 and Ebdsv5 VM families. Watch out for our product launch announcements in the Azure updates.
• You can learn from the SKU API response about SKUs as NVMe support is added

To enable the NVMe for remote disk, ensure that the following five conditions are met:

• Choose a VM family that supports NVMe. It's important to note that only Ebsv5 and Ebdsv5 VM sizes are equipped with NVMe in the Intel v5 generation VMs. Make sure to select either one of the series, Ebsv5 or Ebdsv5 VM.

• Select the operating system image that is tagged with NVMe support. Once supported VM family and OS image is selected, you are prompted to select the NVMe disk controller type.

  

• Opt in to NVMe by selecting NVMe disk controller type in Azure portal or ARM/CLI/PowerShell template. For step-by-step instructions, refer here.

• Only Gen2 images are supported.

• Choose one of the Azure regions where NVMe is enabled. By meeting the five conditions, you are able to enable NVMe on the supported VM family in no time. Follow the above conditions while creating and resizing a VM with NVMe to ensure successful launch of feature.

To check if a given image is tagged as NVMe, use the following command:

az vm image show --urn URN_OF_IMAGE

Let's say you want to tag an image that supports NVMe, but it wasn't tagged yet. Follow these four steps:

1. Upload NVMe supported VHD to your storage account. AzCopy is a fast way, but you can also use Azure portal to upload.

   azcopy copy <local path to your vhd> <container in your storage account>
   

2. Create your image gallery using PowerShell, Azure portal, or CLI.
3. Create the image definition, make sure to include --feature DiskControllerTypes=SCSI,NVMe. See the following CLI example:

   az sig image-definition create --resource-group <resourceGroupName> --gallery-name <galleryName> --gallery-image-definition <imageName> --publisher <publisher> --offer <offerName> --sku <skuName> --os-type <osType> --os-state <osState> --feature DiskControllerTypes=SCSI,NVMe
   

4. Create the image version under the NVMe-tagged gallery with the NVMe-supported VHD. See the following CLI example:

   az sig image-version create --resource-group <resourceGroupName> --gallery-name <galleryName> --gallery-image-definition <imageName> --gallery-image-version <version> --target-regions <region1> <region2> --replica-count <replicaCount> --os-vhd-uri <NVMe-supported vhd uri> --os-vhd-storage-account <storageAccount>
   

• The source VM (for example, E8bsv5 in this case), should use a NVMe none tagged OS image that supports NVMe
• Ensure to set the destination discontrollertype of the VM as NVMe also in E112i VMs. Use the following PowerShell script to set the disk controller type:

  azure-nvme-VM-update.ps1 [-subscription_id] <String> [-resource_group_name] <String> [-vm_name] <String> [[-disk_controller_change_to] <String>] [-vm_size_change_to] <String> [[-start_vm_after_update] <Boolean>] [[-write_logfile] <Boolean>]
  

If you're considering using a VM family other than the Ebsv5 or Ebdsv5 series, it's important to note that the NVMe interface is only supported on these two families. If you select a nonsupported VM family, you receive an error message that reads:
"The selected VM size can't boot with DiskControllerType. Check that the disk controller type provided is one of the supported disk controller types for the VM size Y Please query SKU API at https://docs.microsoft.com/rest/api/compute/resource-skus/list to determine supported disk controller types for the VM size Resource SKUs - List - REST API (Azure Compute)".
Therefore, to ensure that you use the NVMe interface successfully, choose either the Ebsv5 or Ebdsv5 VM, family.

To launch VMs with an NVMe interface in the Ebsv5 or Ebdsv5 VM families, it's crucial to opt in for the NVMe disk controller type. Failure to do so results in the VMs with their default configuration, SCSI. Since no other VM families currently support the NVMe interface, specifying the NVMe disk controller type is mandatory to launch VMs successfully with the NVMe interface. So, opt in for the NVMe disk controller type to avoid any complications in launching your VMs.

To launch VMs with an NVMe interface in the Ebsv5 or Ebdsv5 VM families, it's essential to choose one of the supported OS images tagged as NVMe. If your current OS image is not supported for NVMe, you receive an error message that reads: "The selected image isn't supported for NVMe. See supported VM images."

NVMe support is available in about 33+ OS versions. We continuously improve the OS image coverage and recommend referring to the page for updates on the latest OS image support added. This page provides up-to-date information on which OS images are tagged as NVMe supported and when new OS images are available with NVMe support.

Using a Gen 2 image is a pre-requisite to enable NVMe interface on the Ebsv5 or Ebdsv5 VM series. If you use a Gen 1 VM image, you receive an error message that reads: "The selected image isn't supported for NVMe. See supported VM images."

NVMe is currently available only in the following 13 Azure regions: US North Southeast Asia, West Europe, Australia East, North Europe, West US 3, UK South, Sweden Central, East US, Central US, West US 2, East US 2, and South central US. If you choose a nonsupported region, E96bsv5 or E112i are disabled in the size selection drop-down. Even though you may see the smaller sizes E2-64bsv5 or E2-64bdsv5, NVMe deployment won't be successful due to missing configurations.

Watch out for our product launch announcements in the Azure updates.

The sizes E2-E112i support NVMe on Ebsv5 and Ebdsv5 families.

All sizes (E2-E96) on the Ebsv5 and Ebsdv5 families support SCSI except E112i.

NVMe support is available in about 30+ OS versions. Refer to the page for updates on the latest OS image support added. This page provides up-to-date information on which OS images are tagged as NVMe supported and when new OS images are available with NVMe support.

No, there are no immediate plans to support NVMe on Gen 1 VMs. If you think your workload benefits NVMe performance, we recommend switching to the Gen 2 VMs. Refer to the steps here to convert Gen 1 VM image to Gen 2 or create a new Gen 2 VM.

NVMe sizes can be combined with Premium SSD v1, Premium SSD v2, and Ultra disks. For additional information on Azure disk offerings, see Azure Managed disks.

The steps to switch from SCSI to NVMe are the same as explained in FAQ.

To switch back to SCSI from NVMe, follow the same steps as explained in FAQ.

Live resizing is currently supported on Premium v1, Standard SSD, and Standard HDD disks. Nevertheless, you can add disks without restarting the VM.

• Get nvme-cli package using the command =” sudo apt install nvme-cli”

• Run NVMe list command =” sudo nvme list “to fetch NVMe disk details: 

  

  

  Here's how the data shows in response to Azure PowerShell commands

  

Launch PowerShell and use the following command: wmic diskdrive get model,scsilogicalunit

The ASAP attached disks are presented in the guest with model string “Virtual_Disk NVME Premium” and the SCSI Logical Unit will have value portal visible LUN ID incremented by 1. 
Here's a snapshot of how NVMe disks are seen in NVMe enabled Windows VM:

The following snapshot shows in guest output for data disks attached at LUN 0 and LUN 4 (CRP). The LUN ID is equivalent to NAMESPACE ID.

The NVMe enabled Ebsv5 and Ebdsv5 VMs are the same price as SCSI VMs. Refer to the pricing pages for Windows and Linux. With NVMe, you get higher performance at no extra cost.

The preview period for this offer is over, and it is now generally available for purchase. You can request a quota for one of the available Azure regions to try out the new NVMe Ebsv5 or Ebdsv5 sizes.

An NVMe E112i VM can only be created using an image (PIR & Azure Compute Gallery) that is tagged as NVMe. If an untagged image is used, a SCSI VM is created, and the VM may not perform as intended. There's a solution in development to prevent the creation of an NVMe VM from a nontagged NVMe image. Make sure to follow all instructions listed in FAQ.

Let's say you want to resize a E48 vCPU SCSI VM to E112i NVMe, use the following PowerShell script.

• The source VM (for example, E48bsv5 in this case) should use a NVMe tagged OS image
• Ensure to set the destination diskcontrollertype of the VM as NVMe also in E112i VMs

azure-nvme-VM-update.ps1 [-subscription_id] <String> [-resource_group_name] <String> [-vm_name] <String> [[-disk_controller_change_to] <String>] [-vm_size_change_to] <String> [[-start_vm_after_update] <Boolean>] [[-write_logfile] <Boolean>]

Currently, this scenario is only supported in Linux operating systems and isn't supported in Windows operating systems.

Shared disk feature is currently supported for all disks Premium SSD, Premium SSD v2, and Ultra.

If you see performance issues, you can submit a support ticket. Provide all relevant information on the ticket, such as the subscription, VM size used, region, logs, and screenshot.

If you run into issues while creating or resizing Ebsv5 or Ebdsv5 to NVMe, and need assistance, you can submit a support ticket.