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DRAM DIMMs installation order for Intel® Xeon® CPU Max processor

This section contains information of how to install DRAM DIMMs properly when the system is installed with Intel® Xeon® CPU Max processors.

Intel® Xeon® CPU Max operating systems support​

Intel® Xeon® CPU Max requires specific version of supported operating systems. Make sure the operating system in the server is updated to designated version for proper Intel® Xeon® CPU Max implementation. For OS deployment instructions, see Deploy the operating system.

See the table below for operation system version requirements:
Table 1. Intel® Xeon® CPU Max operating system supported for SD650-N V3
Operating systemversion
Ubuntu Server22.04.3 LTS
RHEL

8.8 and 9.2

RHEL Version 8 specifically does not include the driver automatically using Flat mode. It is still possible to use Flat mode, it just needs to be explicitly enabled by user in the kernel parameters.
SLES15 SP5

Memory modes for Intel® Xeon® CPU Max processors and High Bandwidth Memory (HBM)​

An Intel® Xeon® CPU Max processor contains 64 GB High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). When the system is installed with Intel® Xeon® CPU Max processor, the HBM and DRAM DIMMs memory capacity can be configured to the following modes, where the system views HBM differently in each mode and requires specific memory population sequence. The modes and their corresponding memory population rules are as follow:

DRAM memory to HBM ratio must be in 2:1 and up to 64:1 ratio for each processor in a system.

  • Flat mode

    In Flat mode, DRAM DIMMs and HBM are both installed in the system. The system view both of them as memory.

  • Cache mode

    In Cache mode, DRAM DIMMs and HBM are both installed in the system. The system view DRAM DIMMs as memory and HBM as cache for DRAM DIMMs.

    • DRAM memory to HBM ratio must be in 2:1 and up to 64:1 ratio for each processor. Each Intel® Xeon® CPU Max processor contains 64 GB High Bandwidth Memory.

Note

  • SD650-N V3 supports fully populated processors only (two processors per node).

  • Mixing DIMMs with different capacity is not allowed. All DIMMs installed must be identical.

  • Memory modes can be set up in UEFI

  • Intel® Xeon® CPU Max supports 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB DIMM only.

Flat mode memory population sequence​

Table 2. Flat mode memory population sequence
 Processor 1Processor 2
iMCiMC1iMC0iMC2iMC3iMC3iMC2iMC0iMC1
Memory channel1010010110100101
DIMM slot number12345678910111213141516
16 DIMMsDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMM

Cache mode memory population sequence​

Table 3. Cache mode memory population sequence
 Processor 1Processor 2
iMCiMC1iMC0iMC2iMC3iMC3iMC2iMC0iMC1
Memory channel1010010110100101
DIMM slot number12345678910111213141516
16 DIMMs

Supports 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB DIMM.

DIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMMDIMM