Last summer we Optane DC Persistent Memory - Module based Optane memory in DIMM format. As it was then stated, the supply of Optane bars began in the second quarter of 2019, by which time enough information had accumulated about them, which was so lacking then, at the time of the announcement. So, under the cut - specifications and usage models , as well as all sorts of infographics.
So, as already mentioned, Optane DC Persistent Memory modules (Optane DC PM) are installed in standard DDR4 DIMM slots, however, their use requires support from the memory controller, so this type of memory can only be used with second-generation Intel Xeon Scalable Gold or Platinum processors. . In total, one Optane DC PM module per memory channel can be installed, that is, up to 6 modules per socket, that is, a total of 3 TB or 24 TB per 8-socket server.
The Optane DC PM comes in 3 sizes: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GBβmuch larger than the currently available DDR DIMM sticks. There are two main ways to use it and interact with traditional memory.
- Memory mode - does not require any application modifications. In this mode, the Optane DC PM is used as the main addressable RAM, and the available amount of traditional DRAM is used as a cache for Optane. Memory mode allows you to provide applications with a significant amount of RAM at a significantly lower cost, which can be important when hosting virtual machines, large databases, and so on. Keep in mind that in this mode, Optane DC Persistent Memory is volatile, since the data in it is encrypted with a key that is lost upon reboot.
- Direct access mode - Applications and software can directly access the Optane DC PM, which simplifies the call chain. Also in this mode, you can use the existing storage APIs, which allows you to work with memory as with an SSD and, in particular, boot from it. The system sees Optane DC PM and DRAM as two independent pools of memory. Benefit from large, non-volatile, fast, and reliable storage for data-intensive applications and system needs.
An intermediate option is also possible: some of the Optane DC PM brackets are used in memory mode, and some are used in direct access mode. The next slide shows the benefit of using Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory for virtual machine hosting.
Now we give the performance characteristics of memory modules.
Volume
128 GiB
256 GiB
512 GiB
Model
NMA1XXD128GPS
NMA1XXD256GPS
NMA1XXD512GPS
Warranty
5 years
AFR
β€ 0.44
Endurance 100% write 15W 256B
292 PBW
363 PBW
300 PBW
Endurance 100% write 15W 64B
91 PBW
91 PBW
75 PBW
Speed ββ100% reading 15W 256B
6.8 GB / s
6.8 GB / s
5.3 GB / s
Speed ββ100% write 15W 256B
1.85 GB / s
2.3 GB / s
1.89 GB / s
Speed ββ100% reading 15W 64B
1.7 GB / s
1.75 GB / s
1.4 GB / s
Speed ββ100% write 15W 64B
0.45 GB / s
0.58 GB / s
0.47 GB / s
DDR frequency
2666, 2400, 2133, 1866MT/s
Max. TDP
15w
18w
And finally, about the price. Intel's official recommended prices have not yet been published, but a number of the company's trading partners have already begun collecting pre-orders, at $850-900 for a 128GB bar and $2-$700 for 2GB. 900 GB is not offered yet, apparently, they will appear later than others. Thus, the unit cost starts from $256 per GB, which is comparable to the price of a gigabyte of RDIMM server memory.
Source: habr.com