Accelerating Cloud Storage with FPGA-Based NVMe over TCP

Revolutionizing Cloud Storage with FPGA Acceleration

Cloud computing powers everything from enterprise applications to streaming services, providing scalable and on-demand access to storage and computing resources. However, as workloads grow, traditional storage infrastructures face CPU bottlenecks, high power consumption, and latency issues—challenges that slow down performance and increase operational costs.

At Design Gateway, in collaboration with DYNANIC, we have developed an FPGA-based NVMe over TCP (NVMeTCP) offload engine, an innovative solution that enhances cloud storage efficiency by accelerating NVMe-oF (NVMe over Fabrics) operations directly in hardware.

Why NVMe over TCP?

NVMe over TCP (NVMe/TCP) is a high-performance storage protocol that extends NVMe-based storage to standard Ethernet networks, eliminating the need for costly Fibre Channel (NVMe/FC) infrastructure. While NVMe/FC offers ultra-low latency, it requires specialized hardware, making it less scalable than NVMe/TCP. By contrast, NVMe/TCP operates over existing Ethernet networks, providing cost-effective, flexible, and scalable cloud storage solutions.

NVMe/FC vs. NVMe/TCP: A Comparison

The Problem with Traditional NVMe/TCP Processing

Most cloud infrastructures use Network Interface Cards (NICs) to process NVMe/TCP packets, relying on software-based implementations. This approach has major drawbacks:

• High CPU Usage – Software-based NVMe/TCP processing consumes significant CPU power, reducing efficiency.
• Increased Power Consumption – The CPU spends extra energy managing network and storage operations.
• Lower Performance – CPUs process requests sequentially, introducing latency.

FPGA-Based NVMe/TCP Offload: The Game-Changer

Our FPGA-based NVMeTCP solution eliminates these issues by offloading NVMe/TCP processing from the CPU to an FPGA accelerator, significantly boosting storage performance.

Key Benefits of FPGA-Based NVMe/TCP Acceleration:

? Parallel Processing – Unlike CPUs, FPGAs can handle multiple storage and network operations simultaneously, reducing latency.

? Lower Power Consumption – By reducing CPU workload, our offload engine minimizes power usage.

? Higher Efficiency – The FPGA directly processes NVMe-oF and TCP packets, freeing up the CPU for other critical tasks.

The Technology Behind the Solution

This cutting-edge NVMe/TCP accelerator leverages:

• Design Gateway’s NVMeTCP-IP – A high-performance NVMe/TCP controller that runs without a CPU or DDR memory.
• DYNANIC 's DMA IP – A high-speed DMA engine that facilitates efficient data movement between the FPGA and the host system. DYNANIC's DMA is part of FPGA-based SmartNIC solution from DYNANIC.
• The NVMe-Bridge application – Ensuring seamless communication between the FPGA and cloud storage infrastructure.
• QEMU/KVM Hypervisor with virtio-blk driver – Reducing overhead and optimizing SSD access.

Real-World Impact: Scalable, High-Performance Cloud Storage

By integrating FPGA acceleration with NVMe/TCP, cloud storage providers can:

?? Reduce operational costs by lowering power consumption.

?? Boost IOPS & reduce latency, enabling faster cloud workloads.

?? Scale seamlessly without requiring specialized Fibre Channel hardware.

Watch Our Video & Learn More

Curious to see this FPGA-based NVMe/TCP solution in action? Watch our YouTube video.

?? Visit our website to explore our high-performance FPGA solutions.

Let’s discuss how FPGA-based NVMe/TCP acceleration can transform your cloud storage architecture. Drop your thoughts in the comments or reach out for a demo! ??