User Manual

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2.8.2 NVMe
The board supports M.2 NVM Express* (NVMe) drives. NVMe is an optimized, high-performance
scalable host controller interface designed to utilize PCIe-based solid-state storage. NVMe is
designed to provide efficient access to storage devices built with non-volatile memory, from
current NAND flash technology to future, higher performing persistent memory technologies like
Optane. NVMe is designed to meet serial bandwidth requirements and very high IOPs. It is based
on PCIe Gen 4 and can deliver up to 8GB/s bandwidth. Current NVMe is based on version 1.3 of
the specification.
NOTE
Actual device performance may vary based on OS version, storage type, and workload utilized.
2.8.3 Intel® Volume Management Device (Intel® VMD)
The Z690 PCH supports Intel® Volume Management Device Technology, providing both AHCI and
integrated RAID functionality. The RAID capability provides high-performance RAID 0 and 1
functionality on the M.2 Slots. Other RAID features include hot spare support, SMART alerting,
and RAID 0 auto replace. Software components include an Option ROM for pre-boot
configuration and boot functionality, a Microsoft Windows compatible driver, and a user interface
for configuration and management of the RAID capability of the PCH.
NOTE
Intel® VMD SATA or NVMe RAID is only supported if devices share the same type of connection
protocol. Mixing an M.2 SATA SSD with an NVMe module is not supported. CPU attached storage
can also be used with NVMe SSD RAID options, functionality of RAID from the PCH on the NUC 12
Extreme / Pro X Compute Element cannot be shared with functionality of RAID from the
Baseboard. See Figure 4 for the M.2 Storage location on the NUC 12 Extreme / Pro X Compute
Element.
Figure 4. Location of NUC 12 Extreme / Pro X Compute Element M.2 Slots and Battery