QuickInstallingReferenceandGuideUpgradingfor New DellDDR3PowerEdgeM mory:Servers
August 19, 2009 |
Thomas Cloyd – Dell, Inc. | Server Product Group |
Introduction
This paper provides memory guidance at time of system purchase for later memory upgrades for Dell 11th Generation – 610 and 710 Series – PowerEdge Servers. The purpose is to understand what Dell will support, simplify terminology, and describe rules when installing memory with examples of upgrade paths.
Quick Reference Guide
Table 1 is intended for quick reference in order to understand what Dell will support and the rules governing memory configurations.
Table 1: Quick Reference Memory Guide
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DIMM Feature |
Combine |
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Rules |
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Mixed Type |
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No |
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Not Supported |
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(RDIMM / UDIMM) |
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Single (SR) and Dual Rank (DR) DIMMs can be mixed. If mixing SR or DR with |
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Quad Rank (QR) DIMMs, the first slot of each channel populated (first two |
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Mixed Ranks |
Yes |
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white tab DIMM slots on each processor: A1, A2, B1 & B2) must be |
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populated with the QR DIMM. Only two QR DIMMs are permitted per |
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channel because the maximum of total ranks per channel is 8. |
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All populated channels must have the same DIMM arrangement. Example |
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Mixed Capacity |
Yes |
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with Channel 1: if bank A is populated with a 4GB DIMM (slot A1), bank B |
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with 2GB (slot A4) and Bank C is empty (slot A7), all memory Channels must |
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be populated that way. (see figure 5) |
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If memory modules (DIMMS) with different speeds are installed, all DIMMs |
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will operate at the speed of the slowest installed DIMM. |
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Mixed Speeds |
Yes |
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Also, if any DIMMS (regardless of speed) are installed in the third bank |
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(bank C: slots A/B 7, 8 or 9), the maximum system memory speed will be |
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800MHz. This is the current maximum frequency supported by Intel and |
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Dell, when DIMMS are installed in slots 7, 8 & 9. |
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Any Dell sourced DDR3 DIMMs are supported, regardless of vendor or |
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Mixed Vendors |
Yes |
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vendor mix. Where possible, Dell recommends using the same DIMM |
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manufacturer. |
Identifying the correct DIMM slots in 610 and 710 Series servers (M/R/T610 and M/R/T710 servers)
Pre-existing DIMM positions may not be correct for upgrading. When upgrading memory modules, you must follow these population guidelines. Incorrect population will result in BIOS warnings or errors.
PowerEdge M710/R710/T710
Figure 1: This is the physical memory layout on the R710/M710/T710 (technical schematic). White tabs indicate first slot of each channel.
A1 |
A4 |
A7 |
A2 |
A5 |
A8 |
A3 |
A6 |
A9 |
B9 |
B6 |
B3 |
B8 |
B5 |
B2 |
B7 |
B4 |
B1 |
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CPU A |
CPU B |
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Ch 1 |
Ch 2 |
Ch 3 |
Ch 3 |
Ch 2 |
Ch 1 |
Memory Channels |
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Memory Channels |
************************
PowerEdge M610/R610/T610
Figure 2: This is the physical memory layout on the M610/R610/T10 (technical schematic). White tabs indicate first slot of each channel.
A1 |
A4 |
A2 |
A5 |
A3 |
A6 |
B6 |
B3 |
B5 |
B2 |
B4 |
B1 |
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CPU A |
CPU B |
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Ch 1 |
Ch 2 |
Ch 3 |
Ch 3 |
Ch 2 |
Ch 1 |
Memory Channels |
Memory Channels |
************************
Overview Intel Architecture
Dell 11Th Generations servers (610 & 710 Series) released March 2009 use the new Intel® Xeon™ 5500 series CPUs that support the new DDR3 memory technology. Each CPU has three separate memory controller hubs (MCHs). Figure 1 illustrates this new CPU architecture and memory layout for 18 DIMM systems – the 710 Series servers.
Due to this new technology, there are limitations on memory speed. Total system memory speed is dependent on the CPU, DIMMs populated per channel, and the DIMM ranking. For example, one restriction is that Quad Rank (QR) DIMMs must be the first DIMM installed in a channel (memory bank #1).*