SAN JOSE, California

A group has defined a specification that is aimed to expand the use of solid-state drives (SSDs).

The NVM Express 1.0 specification that defines an optimized register interface, command set and feature set for PCI Express-based SSDs has been released by the NVMHCI Work Group.

The goal is to help enable the broad adoption of SSDs using the PCIe interface. The NVM Express specification was developed by the NVMHCI Work Group, which includes more than 70 industry leading member companies. Core contributors include Cadence, Cisco, Dell, EMC, Fujitsu Technology Solutions, IDT, Intel, Marvell, Micron, Microsoft, Nvelo, Oracle, Pliant, PLX, Samsung, SanDisk, SandForce, STEC and Violin Memory.

''The NVM Express specification offers numerous benefits as a standard interface through the interoperability it fosters,'' according to the group. ''For example, each OS vendor may confidently write a driver that works for devices from multiple vendors. OEMs may procure devices from diverse suppliers that all implement a consistent feature set. Time to market may be reduced as validation times shrink with standard drivers and OEMs leverage the same test suites across devices.''

A standard Linux driver for NVM Express is already available. Nvelo is developing a standard NVM Express driver for Microsoft Windows operating systems, with an alpha release scheduled for Q3 2011.