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DCPMM and DRAM DIMM installation rules

For Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory (DCPMM), the following memory modes are available:
Note

  • Before installing DCPMMs and DRAM DIMMs, refer to DC Persistent Memory Module (DCPMM) setup and make sure to meet all the requirements.

  • To verify if the presently installed processors support DCPMMs, examine the four digits in the processor description. Only processors with description meeting both of the following requirements support DCPMMs.

    • The first digit is 5 or a larger number.

      Note
      The only exception to this rule is Intel Xeon Silver 4215, which also supports DCPMM.

    • The second digit is 2.

    Example: Intel Xeon 5215L and Intel Xeon Platinum 8280M

    If the presently installed processors do not support DCPMMs, replace them with the processors that support DCPMMs.

  • Supported memory capacity range varies with the following types of processors:

    • Large memory tier (L): The processors with L after the four digits (for example: Intel Xeon 5215L)

    • Medium memory tier (M): The processors with M after the four digits (for example: Intel Xeon Platinum 8280M)

    • Other: Other processors that support DCPMMs (for example: Intel Xeon Gold 5222)

In addition, you can take advantage of a memory configurator, which is available at the following site:

Lenovo Enterprise Solutions Configurator

  • App Direct Mode
    In this mode, DCPMMs act as independent and persistent memory resources directly accessible by specific applications, and DRAM DIMMs act as system memory. The total displayed system memory in this mode is the total capacity of DRAM DIMMs.
  • Mixed Memory Mode
    In this mode, some percentage of DCPMM capacity is directly accessible to specific applications (App Direct), while the rest serves as system memory. The App Direct part of DCPMM is displayed as persistent memory, while the rest of DCPMM capacity is displayed as system memory. DRAM DIMMs act as cache in this mode.
  • Memory Mode
    In this mode, DCPMMs act as volatile system memory, while DRAM DIMMs act as cache. Only DCPMM capacity is displayed as system memory in this mode. Ensure that the ratio of DRAM DIMM capacity to DCPMM capacity is between 1:2 and 1:16.