Paper Title: NVMe Zoned Namespaces in Practice

Paper Abstract: Zoned-block storage layers, such as Zoned Namespaces (ZNS) being developed in the NVM Express Working Group and already ratified specification ZAC/ZBC for HDDs, are being increasingly adopted in the industry. Learn how the software eco-system for these types of storage devices works in practice. The new ZNS interface, additions to the Linux eco-system, and file-system integrations that are enabling key applications such as RocksDB with this new interface are key topics. Benefits include how it reduces device-side write amplification, over-provisioning and DRAM, while improving tail latency, throughput and drive capacity.

Paper Author: Matias Bjorling, Distinguished Engineer and Country Manager, R&D Engineering, Western Digital

Author Bio: Dr. Matias Bjorling is Director of Emerging System Architectures at Western Digital where he is responsible for building next-generation system architectures for deployment in large-scale public and private clouds. He leads the Zoned Namespaces technical proposal within the NVMe Working Group, and he works on enabling software integration in the Linux kernel and storage software eco-system. Matias is the founder and chief architect of the Open-Channel SSD software eco-system, author of the Open-Channel 1.2 and 2.0 specifications, and the maintainer of the Linux kernel Open-Channel SSD subsystem. Matias' PhD is from IT University of Copenhagen, where his thesis work developed the foundation for Open-Channel SSDs being deployed and used by hyperscalers, and which are now being standardized as Zoned Namespaces.