Skip to main content

Mirroring mode installation order

Mirroring mode provides full memory redundancy while reducing the total system memory capacity in half. Memory channels are grouped in pairs with each channel receiving the same data. If a failure occurs, the memory controller switches from the DIMMs on the primary channel to the DIMMs on the backup channel. The DIMM installation order for memory mirroring varies based on the number of processors and DIMMs installed in the server.

In mirroring mode, each memory module in a pair must be identical in size and architecture. The channels are grouped in pairs with each channel receiving the same data. One channel is used as a backup of the other, which provides redundancy.

Follow the rules below when installing memory modules in mirroring mode:
  • All memory modules to be installed must be of the same Lenovo part number.

  • Mirroring can be configured across channels in the same iMC, and the total TruDDR5 memory size of the primary and secondary channels must be the same.

  • Partial Memory Mirroring is a sub-function of memory mirroring. It requires to follow the memory population for memory mirroring.

The following table shows the memory module population sequence for mirroring mode when only one processor (processor 1) is installed.

Table 1. Mirroring mode with one processor (processor 1)
ConfigurationDIMM slots
16151413121110987654321
8 DIMMsNote161412107531
16 DIMMsNote16151413121110987654321
Note

DIMM configurations that support Software Guard Extensions (SGX). See Enable Software Guard Extensions (SGX) to enable this feature.

The following table shows the memory module population sequence for mirroring mode when two processors (processor 1 and processor 2) are installed.

Table 2. Mirroring mode with two processors (processor 1 and processor 2)
ConfigurationDIMM slots
16151413121110987654321
16 DIMMsNote161412107531
32 DIMMsNote16151413121110987654321
ConfigurationDIMM slots
32313029282726252423222120191817
16 DIMMsNote3230282623211917
32 DIMMsNote32313029282726252423222120191817
Note

DIMM configurations that support Software Guard Extensions (SGX). See Enable Software Guard Extensions (SGX) to enable this feature.