CompTIA Server+ (SK0-005)Server Hardware Installation and ManagementMedium

A server administrator is deploying a new server that requires high-speed, direct-attached storage for a local database. The server is equipped with a modern motherboard that has M.2 slots. Which storage technology would provide the fastest performance for this application?

  1. ANVMe SSD
  2. BSATA SSD
  3. CSAS HDD
  4. DRAID 10 using SATA HDDs
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A. NVMe SSD

NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) SSDs utilize the PCIe bus, offering significantly higher throughput and lower latency compared to SATA or SAS interfaces, especially for SSDs. Given the requirement for 'high-speed, direct-attached storage' and the presence of 'M.2 slots' (which can support NVMe), NVMe SSDs are the optimal choice for the fastest performance for a local database.

Why the other options are wrong

  • B. SATA SSDs are fast but significantly slower than NVMe SSDs due to the SATA interface bottleneck.
  • C. SAS HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) are much slower than any SSD and not suitable for 'fastest performance'.
  • D. RAID 10 with SATA HDDs would be much slower than any SSD solution, despite some redundancy and performance improvement over single HDDs.

NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express)

A communication interface specification for accessing non-volatile storage media (like SSDs) attached via a PCI Express (PCIe) bus, designed for high throughput and low latency.

  • Utilizes PCIe lanes
  • Significantly faster than SATA/SAS SSDs
  • Designed specifically for SSDs

Memory trick: NVMe flies, SSD is fast, HDD is slow, Tape is for the past.

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