Windows Server now with native NVMe
Microsoft used the word “revolution” to describe a new “Native NVMe” path in Windows Server 2025, announced on December 16, 2025. The timing is funny, since NVMe has been mainstream long enough that plenty of admins no longer remember their first NVMe drive.
Microsoft says Windows Server has long routed NVMe I/O through a SCSI-shaped storage path, which adds translation and kernel overhead. Native NVMe is meant to remove that translation and let the OS talk to NVMe devices in a way that matches NVMe’s queue model.
Source: Microsoft
Microsoft’s own DiskSpd example claims up to about 80% higher 4K random read IOPS on NTFS, plus about 45% fewer CPU cycles per I/O, versus Windows Server 2022. This is labeled as ‘general availability,’ but it is opt-in and disabled by default after the October cumulative update, with enablement done via a registry key. Microsoft also says you only see a difference if the drive is using the in-box StorNVMe.sys driver, not a vendor driver.
Source: Microsoft
Linux and VMware have offered native NVMe paths for years, while Windows Server releases stayed on the older stack. On the Windows 11 side, there is still no clear “this is available now” announcement in Microsoft’s post, and some people are already asking directly when it will land on Windows 11 Pro. The same post also references a policy path labeled for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, and an NVM Express slide deck has described “Native NVMe” as a preview in Windows 24H2 and Insider builds, which hints at where it is headed.
Source: Microsoft
