Microsoft hails "storage revolution" as it adds native NVMe support to Windows Server 2025

• Windows Server 2025 removes legacy SCSI overhead to unlock NVMe device performance
• Native NVMe enables servers to handle tens of thousands of simultaneous queues
• Enterprise workloads like SQL Server now experience lower latency and higher throughput

Microsoft has introduced native NVMe support in Windows Server 2025, calling it a “storage revolution” due to the potential performance gains it delivers.

Modern NVMe devices, including PCIe Gen5 SSDs and high-end HBAs, can deliver millions of IOPS per disk, far exceeding the capabilities of traditional SCSI-based stacks.

SCSI uses a single-queue model that limits command throughput and was originally designed for older rotational drives.

Performance benefits and real-world impact

NVMe supports tens of thousands of queues, with each queue capable of processing tens of thousands of commands simultaneously, enabling servers to handle much higher workloads efficiently.

Native NVMe removes translation layers that previously routed NVMe I/O through SCSI, reducing processing overhead and latency.

DiskSpd.exe testing shows Windows Server 2025 can achieve up to 80% higher 4K random read IOPS and around 45% fewer CPU cycles per I/O compared to Windows Server 2022.

Enterprise applications reflect these improvements, including SQL Server and OLTP workloads, virtualization with Hyper-V, and high-performance file servers performing large reads, writes, and metadata operations.

Analytics and AI/ML workloads also benefit from faster access to large datasets, making the system more responsive for complex ETL and cache operations.

To enable native NVMe, administrators must confirm that devices use the in-box Windows NVMe driver - as vendor-specific drivers may not produce measurable improvements.

The feature is opt-in and requires application of the latest cumulative update along with adding a registry key or using Group Policy.

Once enabled, devices appear under Storage disks in Device Manager, and administrators can monitor performance using Performance Monitor or Windows Admin Center by tracking disk transfers per second.

This provides administrators with real-world metrics to validate improvements.

Organizations using cloud hosting or data center hosting setups could use these gains to optimize storage-intensive workloads.

Although Microsoft presents this as a storage revolution, Linux and VMware have offered native NVMe paths for years.

Its gains largely depend on workload characteristics, hardware compatibility, and correct driver usage.

To determine the actual benefits in production environments, organizations need cautious deployment and thorough validation.

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