When people talk about NVMe performance, they often focus on interface speed, but the type of NAND flash used underneath can make just as much of a difference. That’s where multilayer NVMe comes in.
NVMe drives use different types of NAND flash — SLC, MLC, TLC, and QLC — each with trade-offs in speed, endurance, and cost. Understanding the differences helps you choose the right setup for performance-critical workloads, large-scale databases, or backup systems that need more capacity than speed.
Understanding the NAND Layers Behind Multilayer NVMe
Multilayer NVMe is made possible by stacking different types of NAND flash, each with its strengths. From SLC to QLC, the type of memory used directly affects speed, durability, and how well it handles modern enterprise workloads.
SLC (Single-Level Cell)
SLC stores 1 bit per cell, giving it the highest performance and durability of any NAND type. Each write is faster and more reliable because there’s no ambiguity about charge levels in the cell.
- Speed: Extremely fast
- Endurance: ~100,000 write cycles
- Cost: Highest
- Use case: Ideal for caching, metadata storage, and low-latency transaction logs
MLC (Multi-Level Cell)
MLC NAND flash stores 2 bits per cell, which increases density without heavily compromising speed. It’s popular in enterprise-grade SSDs due to its endurance profile and performance.
- Speed: High
- Endurance: ~10,000 write cycles
- Cost: High
- Use case: Well-suited for OLTP workloads, mixed I/O operations, and active database environments.
TLC (Triple-Level Cell)
With TLC flash storing 3 bits per cell, manufacturers can lower cost and increase capacity. It’s now common in both consumer and enterprise drives and works well in read-heavy scenarios.
- Speed: Moderate
- Endurance: ~3,000 write cycles
- Cost: Medium
- Use case: Good for running non-IOPS-critical workloads, such as Kubernetes-based applications and hosting VM images, backups, or static datasets
QLC (Quad-Level Cell)
QLC technology allows 4 bits per cell, which maximizes storage density but comes with lower endurance and slower write speeds. That makes it better for workloads where data is rarely modified after being written.
- Speed: Slower writes, fast reads
- Endurance: ~1,000 write cycles
- Cost: Lowest
- Use case: Suited for cold data storage, backups, logging, and archive workloads
🚀 Build Your Stack on Multilayer NVMe Performance
Simplyblock uses SLC, MLC, TLC, and QLC intelligently across NVMe layers — perfect for fast, scalable, multilayer NVMe setups.
👉 Use Simplyblock for NVMe over TCP Storage →
Comparison of NAND Types Used in NVMe Storage
Before choosing an NVMe solution, it’s important to understand how each NAND type compares. Here’s a breakdown of performance, endurance, cost, and common use cases across the four major flash layers.
| NAND Type | Bits per Cell | Typical Endurance (Write Cycles) | Relative Write Speed | Cost per GB | Common Use Cases |
| SLC | 1 | ~100,000 | Very High | Highest | Caching, metadata, and real-time analytics |
| MLC | 2 | ~10,000 | High | High | OLTP databases, active workloads |
| TLC | 3 | ~3,000 | Moderate | Medium | VMs, read-heavy workloads, snapshots |
| QLC | 4 | ~1,000 | Lower | Lowest | Cold data, backups, infrequently accessed logs |
These numbers reflect general expectations. Actual performance depends on controller design, wear leveling, and firmware behavior, as documented in Micron’s NAND flash overview.
Why Tiered Flash Storage Matters
No single type of NAND is ideal for all workloads. Using only SLC drives would be fast but expensive and wasteful for cold data. QLC is cheap, but too slow for active databases or IOPS-intensive tasks.
Modern storage systems solve this with auto-tiering — moving data between flash layers based on usage patterns.
This is especially effective in environments such as:
- Disaggregated storage architectures
- Hybrid deployments with both hot and cold data
- Real-time analytics alongside long-term archival
- Stateful apps running in Kubernetes-native environments
How Simplyblock Puts Multilayer NVMe to Work
Simplyblock supports all major NAND flash types — SLC, MLC, TLC, and QLC — and uses them together to maximize storage efficiency and performance across enterprise workloads. Its architecture simplifies how multilayer NVMe can be applied in real-world systems.
🔹 Auto-Tiering by Access Patterns
Simplyblock continuously monitors how data is accessed and moves it across flash layers accordingly. Hot data remains on high-endurance NAND like SLC or MLC, while infrequent workloads are moved to TLC or QLC. This ensures optimal endurance and reduces unnecessary write pressure on lower-tier media.
🔹 NVMe-Native Over Standard Infrastructure
The system is built around NVMe over TCP, providing high IOPS and low latency over common Ethernet networks. There’s no need for proprietary fabrics or specialized hardware to get near-local disk performance across nodes.
🔹 Integrated into Software-Defined Environments
With full CSI support, Simplyblock integrates directly into Kubernetes-native platforms and supports dynamic provisioning, snapshots, and volume expansion. It’s well-suited for hybrid and on-prem clusters built around software-defined storage, where infrastructure flexibility is key.
Since different flash types like MLC NAND flash and QLC offer varying endurance and performance characteristics, combining them into a single tiered system allows for workload-aware optimization.
Making the Right Flash Choice for Enterprise NVMe
Multilayer NVMe is about balance — performance, endurance, and cost. SLC gives you raw speed, QLC provides massive capacity, and everything in between plays a role in keeping your infrastructure efficient.
Rather than forcing trade-offs, Simplyblock unifies these technologies in a platform that adapts to your workloads automatically. With NVMe-native performance, built-in automation, and Kubernetes-native features, it’s designed to make flash work harder for your data.
Questions and answers
Multilayer NVMe refers to a layered design where local NVMe SSDs, NVMe-over-Fabrics transport, and backend storage tiers are integrated to optimize latency, bandwidth, and scalability. This layered structure ensures data moves efficiently across fast and cost-effective storage tiers.
By combining local NVMe, NVMe‑oF transport, and tiered storage, multilayer NVMe delivers ultra‑low latency for hot data, high throughput over the network, and seamless scalability. Simplyblock’s architecture, powered by NVMe‑oF & SPDK, demonstrates this by filing data across layers without sacrificing performance.
Yes. In Kubernetes, multilayer NVMe enables fast local caching with NVMe SSDs, networked access via CSI‑managed NVMe‑oF, and efficient backend tiering. Simplyblock supports this setup natively through its CSI driver and orchestration framework, delivering container‑friendly performance.
Pairing multilayer NVMe with advanced erasure coding enhances data protection while minimizing redundancy overhead. This combination ensures efficient capacity use, resiliency against failures, and high I/O performance across all NVMe layers.
Yes—multilayer NVMe optimizes storage investment by keeping frequently accessed data on high-speed NVMe and migrating colder data to cost-efficient tiers. Simplyblock’s tiering logic in its NVMe‑oF + SPDK setup ensures smart data placement and balanced resource utilization.