Last summer, we Optane DC Persistent Memory — Optane memory based on DIMM modules. As stated then, shipments of Optane modules began in the second quarter of 2019, by which time enough information had accumulated, which was so lacking at the time of the announcement. So, below are the technical specifications and use cases of , along with various infographics.
As already mentioned, Optane DC Persistent Memory (Optane DC PM) modules are installed in standard DDR4 DIMM slots, but memory controller support is required for their use, so this type of memory can currently only be used with second-generation Intel Xeon Scalable Gold or Platinum processors. A single Optane DC PM module can be installed per memory channel, meaning up to 6 modules per socket, allowing for a total of 3 TB or 24 TB on an 8-socket server.
Optane DC PM is available in modules of 3 sizes: 128, 256, and 512 GB — significantly larger than the currently available DDR DIMM modules. There are two main ways to use it and interact with traditional memory.
- Memory mode — does not require any application modifications. In this mode, Optane DC PM is used as the main addressable RAM, while the existing volume of traditional DRAM acts as a cache for Optane. Memory mode allows for a significant amount of RAM to be provided to applications at a much lower price, which can be important when hosting virtual machines, large databases, and so on. It should be noted that in this mode, Optane DC Persistent Memory is volatile, as the data within it is encrypted with a key that is lost upon reboot.
- Direct access mode — applications and software have the capability to directly access Optane DC PM, simplifying the call chain. Also, in this mode, existing storage API can be used, allowing the memory to be treated like an SSD and, in particular, to boot from it. The system sees Optane DC PM and DRAM as two independent memory pools. Your advantage is large capacity, non-volatile, fast, and reliable storage for data-intensive applications and system needs.
There is also a hybrid option: some Optane DC PM modules are used in memory mode, while others are in direct access mode. The next slide shows the advantages of using Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory for virtual machine hosting.
Now let's present the specifications of the memory modules.
Capacity
128 GiB
256 GiB
512 GiB
Model
NMA1XXD128GPS
NMA1XXD256GPS
NMA1XXD512GPS
Warranty;
5 years
AFR
≤ 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 100% read 15W 256B
6.8 GB/s
6.8 GB/s
5.3 GB/s
Speed 100% write 15W 256B
1.85 GB/s
2.3 GB/s
1.89 GB/s
Speed 100% read 15W 64B
1.7 GB/s
1.75 GB/s
1.4 GB/s
Speed 100% write 15W 64B
0.45 GB/s
0.58 GB/s
0.47 GB/s
DDR Frequency
2666, 2400, 2133, 1866 MT/s
Max. TDP
15W
18W
Finally, let's discuss the price. Official Intel recommended prices have not yet been published, but several of the company's trading partners have already begun accepting pre-orders at $850 to $900 for the 128 GB module and $2,700 to $2,900 for the 256 GB module. The 512 GB option is not yet available, likely to be released later. Thus, the unit cost starts at $7 per GB, comparable to the price of one gigabyte of server RDIMM memory.
Source: habr.com
