Fusion-io’s 2012 and 2013 announcements described three ways to make software work more directly with flash: database Atomic Writes, a native key-value interface called NVMKV, and a Linux virtual-memory Demand Paging Extension. The company’s goal was to reduce software layers built around disk-era or block-storage assumptions. These were historical announcements, not evidence that the projects remain supported or broadly adopted today.
What Fusion-io announced
On July 23, 2013, Fusion-io said it would contribute its nonvolatile-memory key-value interface, NVMKV, to the Open Compute Project. It also said it had posted a flash-aware Linux kernel virtual-memory Demand Paging Extension to GitHub for community testing. In the same release, the company described its Atomic Writes API and named database products that included it at the time.
The three efforts addressed different points in the storage path: whether a database write must be made atomic across sectors, how key-value software communicates with flash, and when virtual-memory pages are brought into memory. Fusion-io presented them as ways to make software more aware of flash hardware, not as one unified release under a single license.
Atomic Writes: making database updates atomic
Fusion-io described Atomic Writes as allowing a processor to write multiple independent storage sectors as one storage transaction. The aim was to avoid an additional write needed to preserve atomicity: the all-or-nothing property that keeps a multi-sector update from being left partially applied after an interruption.
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The 2013 release said the API was in MariaDB 5.5.31 and Percona Server 5.5.31, and identified Percona Server 5.6 as upcoming. Those versions and adoption details refer to the 2013 announcement; they do not establish current inclusion or support.
Fusion-io reported up to a 50% throughput increase and a fourfold reduction in latency spikes for I/O-intensive workloads when comparing database operation with Atomic Writes against the same flash platform without it. These are company-reported results. The release did not provide enough methodology to treat them as independently verified or applicable to other workloads.
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NVMKV: a key-value path to flash
Fusion-io described NVMKV as a native key-value interface to flash. In a conventional block-oriented path, key-value requests may be translated into block I/O and pass through software layers that do not expose the device’s native capabilities directly. NVMKV was intended to avoid repeated conversion between those representations.
The company said the interface could use flash translation layer mapping and garbage-collection facilities, simplifying the software path. These are Fusion-io’s stated design goals and benefits, not independent findings about performance. Its July 2013 release said it intended to contribute NVMKV to the Open Compute Project; that announcement alone does not establish the project’s later adoption or maintenance.
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Demand Paging: loading virtual-memory pages with flash in mind
Virtual memory lets software work with an address space larger than the memory currently resident in physical RAM. Demand paging loads a page when it is needed rather than loading every page in advance. Fusion-io’s 2013 announcement said its Linux kernel Demand Paging Extension was flash-aware and had been posted to GitHub for community testing.
This workstream concerned the timing and handling of virtual-memory page loading, rather than database transaction atomicity or the key-value API. The announcement establishes that the code was posted for testing at that time; it does not establish its current status, compatibility, or long-term support.
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How the three efforts differed
| Workstream | Software concern | Stated approach | Status described in the 2013 release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atomic Writes | Database write atomicity across multiple sectors | Write multiple independent sectors as one storage transaction, avoiding a second write to maintain atomicity | Fusion-io said the API was in MariaDB 5.5.31 and Percona Server 5.5.31; Percona Server 5.6 was described as upcoming |
| NVMKV | Key-value I/O translated through a block-oriented path | Expose a native key-value interface to flash and use flash translation layer mapping and garbage collection | Fusion-io said it would contribute the interface to the Open Compute Project |
| Demand Paging Extension | When virtual-memory pages are loaded | Make Linux demand paging flash-aware | Fusion-io said it had posted the extension to GitHub for community testing |
Why Fusion-io called this flash-aware computing
The common idea was to account for flash’s role in the memory hierarchy instead of treating storage as a generic block device. Fusion-io CTO Pankaj Mehra described a flash-aware application as one that optimizes data placement, movement, and processing with awareness of NAND flash, while offering configuration options to use flash’s properties for performance, manageability, and return on investment.
That framing helps explain why the announcements covered distinct layers: transaction behavior in databases, the interface used by key-value applications, and virtual-memory page loading. It does not show that every software layer was removed or that the announced designs became standard practice.
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What is known about the work today
The company releases provide a dated account of Fusion-io’s intentions and product claims in 2012 and 2013. They are not independent performance studies and do not prove that the projects remain supported today.
A community repository currently describes updated Linux drivers for ioMemory devices. Its notes say some instructions are not generally tested with newer RemixVSL or TrueNAS versions. That is evidence of community activity, not official vendor support or a compatibility guarantee for any particular machine.
For legacy ioMemory hardware, compatibility depends on the exact card model, host and PCIe slot, power, firmware, operating system and kernel, driver source and version, and the condition of the used card. The available account does not establish compatibility for a specific system.
Sources and dates
- Fusion-io, July 23, 2013: NVMKV, Demand Paging, Atomic Writes, database versions, and company-reported performance claims.
- Fusion-io, April 30, 2012: Couchbase’s planned integration with ioMemory through the Fusion-io Key-Value API and release of the code to the community as open source.
- RemixVSL community repository, accessed September 30, 2026: community driver information and qualifications about testing with newer RemixVSL or TrueNAS versions.
In the 2012 announcement, Fusion-io said Couchbase would integrate directly with ioMemory through its Key-Value API and offer the code to the community as open source. That earlier announcement shows the company’s open-source direction predates the 2013 proposals, but does not establish subsequent adoption.
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