Note: This M.2 SSD is:
- NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory express) SSD, normally via PCIe bus. This is NOT SATA SSD
- 2280, mechanical size/dimension, please ensure the size fits the board
- M.2 M-Key, please make sure the M.2 socket support M-key
- Comes Pre-loaded with Raspberry Pi OS and ready to boot up on:
- Please DO NOT format it if you intend to use it with the Raspberry Pi board.
M.2 2280 M-Key NVMe SSD for Raspberry Pi 5 & Raspberry Pi 4 (Model B, 400, or CM4)
We, at Cytron Technologies, are pretty excited about the stable release of USB boot firmware for Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, 400, and also CM4 in 2020. With Compute Module 4 (CM4), the PCIe Gen2 bus is extended out on some carrier boards such as Piunora or Mini Base (A). Furthermore, the NVMe boot is also officially released by Raspberry Pi. This is a native NVMe SSD boot via PCIe bus, it does not go through to any USB to NVMe adapter.
This NVMe SSD is in M.2 2280 (M Key) form factor. We called it MakerDisk! A Disk from Makers to Makers :) It is an M.2 2280, M-Key, NVMe Solid State Drive (SSD) with a capacity of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. And it is preloaded with Raspberry Pi OS.
Do check out Jeff Gerling talking about CM4 boots off an NVMe SSD, natively in this video:
If you prefer to read the article, welcome to check out the blog by Jeff Gerling here: The Raspberry Pi can boot of NVMe SSDs now.
From Jeff's benchmarking with eMMC, microSD card and USB 3.0 (UASP) adapter, the native NMVe interface is 12x faster on the Pi for normal file operations that include: copies, random read/write. And that also improves day-to-day performance.
Of course, we have also done some speed tests using the built-in Raspberry Pi Diagnosis. Here are the speed test results that we get using the 128GB NVMe 2280 M-Key MakerDisk:
- Sequential write speed 385505 KB/sec (target 10000) - PASS, over 38 times faster than the target
- Random write speed 25680 IOPS (target 500) - PASS, over 50 times faster than the target
- Random read speed 22351 IOPS (target 1500) - PASS, nearly 15 times faster than the target
Note: The MakerDisk NVMe 2280 is connected to the CM4 Mini Base (A) M.2 slot with the CM4 Lite module. Obviously, we are using a Kapton to hold the 2280 SSD onto the back of CM4 Mini Base (A) as the mounting holes on it only support 2230 and 2242 sizes. BTW, the Piunora board comes with only a B-Key M.2 slot, so the M-Key NVMe SSD is NOT COMPATIBLE with it.
The NVMe 2280 M-Key MakerDisk SSD on the bottom of CM4 Mini Base (A), obviously the 2280 size exceeds the length supported by the Mini Base (A) board, so we use Kapton tape to hold the NVMe. We do not recommend doing this. This setup is purely to get the diagnosis data.
Setup of Raspberry Pi 4 Model B booting from MakerDisk NVMe SSD via a USB3.0 to NVMe Adapter.
As for the size, please make sure the carrier board or adapter supports M.2 2280, M-Key:
M.2 SSD Size by matob.web
As far as we have tested, this NVMe SSD is compatible with:
The NVMe 2280 M-Key MakerDisk SSD mounted on the bottom of reComputer Jetson Nano 4GB Advanced Kit carrier board
The combination of MakerDisk 2280 NVMe SSD and the latest Argon ONE NVMe Expansion Base is another perfect match:
- Sequential write speed 312076 KB/sec (target 10000) - PASS, over 31 times faster than the target
- Random write speed 11586 IOPS (target 500) - PASS, over 23 times faster than the target
- Random read speed 12840 IOPS (target 1500) - PASS, nearly 8.5 times faster than the target
Here is a comparison table between the Native MakerDisk NVMe (2280 and 2242) boot on CM4, eMMC on CM4, and microSD card boot (normal) on Pi4B: The data are taken from Raspberry Pi Diagnosis
Note: Raspberry Pi Diagnosis result depends on many factors (New memory or used memory, interface, SATA interface, USB interface, USB cable, etc). It should be taken as a reference only.
This NVMe M.2 2280 MakerDisk SSD has a maximum sequential read and write speed of up to 1800MB/s and 560MB/s respectively. The above results are limited by the PCIe lane on CM4 and the USB3.0 to NVMe interface. It works perfectly and boots up without any issue in the Argon One NVMe Case.
Note: This MakerDisk SSD is PRE-LOADED with the Raspberry Pi OS, it can boot into Raspberry Pi OS right out of the box with the:
- Raspberry Pi 5 & Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, and of course, you will need a USB to NVMe adapter, or expansion board such as Argon One NVMe base
- Raspberry Pi 400, you will also need a USB to NVMe adapter
- CM4, the Lite version will be great as it should auto-boot from either microSD or NVMe SSD. Of course, it will also require a carrier board that has an NVMe 2280 M.2 M-Key slot.
Is Your Raspberry Pi Ready with USB Boot?
Most of the latest Raspberry Pi comes with the latest USB bootable firmware. In case you have an older version of the Raspberry Pi board, or you are not sure, just check it using one of these methods:
Option 1: Do it from Raspberry Pi OS desktop with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, going into the raspi_config, by leepspvideo:
Option 2: Format a blank microSD card (you need to back up the content in case you have only one microSD card) into FAT32, load the RPi4 EEPROM firmware using Raspberry Pi Imager(download from here). From Operating System -> Misc Utility Images -> Raspberry Pi 4 EEPROM boot recovery, choose your microSD card and load the image into it:
After the Raspberry Pi Imager loads the EEPROM firmware into the microSD card, insert it into your Raspberry Pi 4 Model B's microSD card slot and power it up. After just 3 seconds, the EEPROM is updated with new firmware and it is ready for USB boot.
Option 3: Boot it directly if your Raspberry Pi 4 Model B comes with the latest firmware in the EEPROM, nothing needed to be updated :)
In any case, you can always reload the image/Operating System into this NVMe SSD using a USB3.0 to M.2 NVMe Adapter. We recommend using the official imager: Raspberry Pi Imager. Please check this video out on how to use the Advance features:
Warranty Period: 12 months
International
Singapore
Malaysia
Thailand
Vietnam
