NVMe feature and extended capability support
The following table lists Features and Extended Capabilities defined in the NVM Express specifications for NVMe devices as follows:
- The columns with specification references indicate the sections in the NVM Express specification that describe the Feature or Extended Capability ("Caps"):
- NVMe 1.4 (Features) – NVM Express Revision 1.4, June 10, 2019
- NVMe 2.0 (Caps) Base – NVM Express Base Specification 2.0a, July 23, 2021
- NVMe 2.0 (Caps) NVM – NVM Express NVM Command Set Specification 1.0a, July 23, 2021
- NVMe 2.0 (Caps) ZNS – Zoned Namespace Command Set Specification 1.1a, July 23, 2021
- StorNVMe Supported – Indicates support in the StorNVMe device driver on Windows 10 version 1903 and later.
- Comments – Any extra relevant information; for example, whether supported as part of an IOCTL operation. "WinPE Only" indicates support only in WinPE editions of Windows.
| Feature or Extended Capability | NVMe 1.4 (Features) | NVMe 2.0 (Caps) Base | NVMe 2.0 (Caps) NVM | NVMe 2.0 (Caps) ZNS | StorNVMe Supported | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asymmetric Namespace Access Reporting | 8.20 | 8.1 | 5.1 | |||
| Boot Partitions | 8.13 | 8.2 | ||||
| Capacity Management | 8.3 | |||||
| Command and Feature Lockdown | 8.4 | |||||
| Controller Memory Buffer | 8.5 | |||||
| Device Self-test Operations | 8.11 | 8.6 | Yes | Available through IOCTL_STORAGE_PROTOCOL_COMMAND. | ||
| Directives | 8.7 | 5.2 | Yes | Supports Identify (Directive Type 00h) and Streams (Directive Type 01h) | ||
| Doorbell Stride for Software Emulation | 8.6 | 8.8 | ||||
| End-to-End Data Protection | 8.3 | 5.2 | ||||
| Endurance Groups | 8.17 | 3.2.3 | Yes | May be retrieved through IOCTL_STORAGE_QUERY_PROPERTY | ||
| Finish Zone Recommended | 5.5 | From Windows 11, Windows Server 2022. Reserved for Microsoft internal use. | ||||
| Firmware Update Process | 8.1 | 3.11 | Yes | Supports Slot 1 READ-ONLY, multiple slots for Commit/Download. Aligns to controller reported FW Update Granularity. Firmware Activation without Reset supported via Commit Action (CA) 011b of Firmware Commit Admin Command | ||
| Get LBA Status | 8.22 | 5.8.1 | ||||
| Host Memory Buffer | 8.9 | 8.9 | Yes | |||
| Host Operation with Asymmetric Namespace Access Reporting (Informative) | 8.21 | 8.10 | ||||
| Improving Performance through I/O Size and Alignment Adherence | 8.25 | 5.8.2 | Yes | Supports Namespace Optimal IO Boundary (NOIOB). NPWG, NPWA, NPDG, NPDA, and NOWS are supported starting in Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022. The driver also uses the Optimal Write Size value reported in the NVM Set Attributes Entries. | ||
| Metadata Handling | 8.2 | 5.8.3 | ||||
| Namespace Management | 8.12 | 8.11 | 5.3 | Yes | WinPE only. Available through IOCTL_STORAGE_PROTOCOL_COMMAND | |
| Namespace Write Protection | 8.19 | 8.12 | ||||
| NVM Command Set Media and Data Error Handling | 5.4 | |||||
| NVMe over Fabrics In-band Authentication | 8.13 | |||||
| Persistent Memory Region | 8.14 | |||||
| Power Management | 8.4 | 8.15 | Yes | Supports nonoperational power states. Autonomous power state transitions are disabled by default. Runtime D3 transitions are enabled by default for selected platforms in Modern Stand-by. Host controlled thermal management Get/Set features supported through IOCTL_STORAGE_QUERY_PROPERTY and IOCTL_STORAGE_SET_PROPERTY. | ||
| Predictable Latency Mode | 8.18 | 8.16 | ||||
| Read Recovery Level | 8.16 | 8.17 | ||||
| Replay Protected Memory Block | 8.10 | 8.18 | ||||
| Reservations | 8.8 | 8.19 | 5.5 | 5.1 | Yes | From Windows 11, Windows Server 2022. |
| Reset Zone Recommended | 5.4 | From Windows 11, Windows Server 2022. Reserved for Microsoft internal use. | ||||
| Rotational Media | 8.20 | |||||
| Sanitize Operations | 8.15 | 8.21 | 5.6 | Yes | IOCTL_STORAGE_PROTOCOL_COMMAND. WinPE only before Windows 11, Windows Server 2022 | |
| Standard Vendor Specific Command Format | 8.7 | 8.23 | ||||
| Streams | 5.7 | |||||
| Submission Queue (SQ) Associations | 8.23 | 8.22 | ||||
| Telemetry | 8.14 | 8.24 | Yes | Supported through IOCTL_SCSI_PASS_THROUGH using command SCSIOP_READ_DATA_BUFF16 with buffer mode as READ_BUFFER_MODE_ERROR_HISTORY. Also available through StorageAdapterProtocolSpecificProperty and StorageDeviceProtocolSpecificProperty from IOCTL_STORAGE_QUERY_PROPERTY. For host telemetry, also available through IOCTL_STORAGE_GET_DEVICE_INTERNAL_LOG starting with Windows 10, version 2004. | ||
| Universally Unique Identifiers (UUIDs) for Vendor Specific Information | 8.24 | 8.25 | ||||
| Virtualization Enhancements | 8.5 | 8.26 | ||||
| Zone Active Excursions | 5.6 | From Windows 11, Windows Server 2022. Reserved for Microsoft internal use. | ||||
| Zone Descriptor Extension | 5.3 | From Windows 11, Windows Server 2022. Reserved for Microsoft internal use. |
For more information, see Working with NVMe drives.