Question

Difficulty: EasyStorage Devices and Interfaces

A system administrator is configuring a workstation for high-speed data transfer. Which TWO storage drive interfaces utilize the PCI Express (PCIe) bus directly to bypass traditional SATA controller throughput limitations? (Select TWO.)

  1. M.2 NVMe driveAnswer
  2. U.2 NVMe driveAnswer
  3. C
    2.5-inch SATA III SSD
  4. D
    3.5-inch SATA HDD

Answer

The M.2 NVMe drive and the U.2 NVMe drive communicate directly over PCI Express bus lanes to deliver higher throughput than SATA-connected storage drives.
Both M.2 NVMe drives and U.2 NVMe drives use PCI Express (PCIe) lanes directly to transfer data, enabling higher bandwidth and lower latency compared to SATA-bound drives.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the high-speed bus requirements specified in the scenario.
The scenario requires storage interfaces that communicate directly over PCI Express (PCIe) lanes to avoid SATA controller speed bottlenecks.
SATA III interfaces are limited to 6 Gbps maximum theoretical bandwidth, whereas PCIe lanes provide much higher bandwidth.
2
Evaluate each drive option against its underlying bus protocol.
Both M.2 NVMe and U.2 NVMe utilize PCIe lanes directly for communication. In contrast, 2.5-inch SATA SSDs and 3.5-inch SATA HDDs rely on traditional SATA controllers.
NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is designed specifically to operate across PCIe lanes.

Key Concept

PCIe vs SATA Storage Interfaces
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