NVMe Hardware RAID vs NVMe Direct OnPrem Pros
October 9, 2025
In this episode of On-Prem Pros, your hosts Ryan Brown, Josh Moss, and Tyler Young (solution architects at xByte Technologies) dive deep into the heated debate between NVMe hardware RAID and software RAID. They share real-world performance benchmarks, configuration tips, and use-case considerations to determine which solution truly offers better value and performance for today’s demanding workloads.
Key Points
- Hardware RAID is often chosen out of habit or legacy familiarity, not necessarily because it performs better.
- NVMe Direct (software RAID) consistently outperformed hardware RAID in several benchmark tests.
- Tweaking RAID controller settings (like caching policies) significantly affects performance outcomes.
- Hardware RAID showed advantages in specific scenarios like large backup workloads.
- Tools like Dell Live Optics help analyze your existing workload to make smarter configuration choices.