**How to Unlock the Massive SSD Boost Microsoft is Saving for Server 2025**
The wait is over, or at least it should be – Microsoft has finally added native NVMe support in Windows Server 2025. While this change may seem like a long time coming, it's essential for those who use high-performance storage devices. But what does this mean exactly? And how can you try out these improvements on your own Windows system?
Native NVMe support is more than just a fancy term – it means that Windows will finally stop translating NVMe requests into SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) commands. This was previously done with the StorNVMe.sys driver, which provided support for translating NVMe into SCSI. By processing these requests directly, Windows Server can cut back on overhead and latency, achieving "extreme performance" according to Microsoft.
SCSI was built for older drives, including HDDs and SATA SSDs, and it's limited to a single-queue model with up to 32 commands. Meanwhile, NVMe can support up to 64,000 queues, each handling up to 64,000 commands all at the same time. This highlights just how outdated the SCSI to NVMe workflow has become.
While Microsoft is focused on Windows Server 2025, some enterprising Windows 11 users have already found ways to try out native NVMe for themselves. Reddit user Cheetah2kkk and PurePlayerPC are among those who have successfully tried it on their systems, equipped with high-end NVMe SSDs.
**Savvy Users Uncover Native NVMe**
These users have managed to enable native NVMe support by modifying the registry using PowerShell. The process involves applying the 2510-B Latest Cumulative Update and adding a specific registry key. While this is not an officially supported way of doing things, it has allowed some users to experience significant performance gains.
**Native NVMe Serves Up Performance Gains Across the Board**
Microsoft touts big performance gains with native NVMe, and their benchmarks show just how much of a difference it can make. A DiskSpd.exe test reveals that WS2025 systems deliver an up to 80% boost in IOPS (input/output operations per second) with 45% fewer CPU cycles per I/O.
Recreating this exact test requires running the following command: `DiskSpd.exe /t:C:\ /o:I /d:4K_Random_Read /w:100`
**Users Report Significant Gains in Random Write Speeds**
The benefits of native NVMe are not limited to Windows Server 2025. Windows 11 users have reported improvements in random write speeds, with some seeing as much as an 85% improvement on the MSI Claw 8AI+. Others have reported a 13% boost in the AS SSD benchmark and up to 22% improvements in random write speeds.
**How to Try Out Native NVMe (at Your Own Risk)**
While Microsoft doesn't officially support native NVMe on Windows 11, users can try it out by following these steps:
- Check whether your NVMe SSDs currently use the Windows NVMe driver.
- Apply the 2510-B Latest Cumulative Update.
- Add the registry key via PowerShell using the following command: `reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\storNVMe" /v "EnableNativeNVMe" /t REG_DWORD /d 1`
It's essential to note that attempting this may cause issues with booting or using your drive, so proceed at your own risk. It's recommended to backup everything first or try it on a virtual machine.
**Should You Try This Out for Yourself?**
Only if you don't mind possibly breaking something or know how to restore your drive to a previous state if you're not happy with these registry changes. Even if the scope is limited right now, it's great to see that Microsoft seems to have found a way to speed up NVMe. Let's hope that we get an official release on Windows 11 in the near future.