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PMEM and DRAM DIMM installation order

This section contains information of how to install PMEMs and DRAM DIMMs properly.

When PMEMs and DRAM DIMMs are mixed in the system, the following modes are supported:
Note
Only App Direct Mode is supported. Memory Mode and Mixed Mode are not supported.
See the following topics to learn how to set up and configure PMEMs.

PMEM rules​

Make sure to meet the following requirements when applying PMEMs in the system.

  • All the PMEMs that are installed must be of the same part number.

  • All the DRAM DIMMs that are installed must be of the same type, rank, and capacity with minimum capacity of 16 GB. It is recommended to use Lenovo DRAM DIMMs with the same part number.

  • Make sure that dual-rotor fan modules are installed in the system. If not, follow the instructions in Install the dual-rotor fan module upgrade kit to install the dual-rotor fan upgrade kit.

  • Supported types of DRAM DIMMs and capacity vary with processors:

    • Processors with model name ending in H:

      • DRAM: 32/64 GB RDIMMs
      • PMEM: 128 GB

    • Processors with model name ending in HL:

      • DRAM: 128 GB 3DS RDIMMs
      • PMEM: 128, 256 or 512 GB

Setting up the system for PMEM for the first time​

Complete the following steps when installing PMEMs to the system for the first time.

  1. Consider PMEM rules and acquire the PMEMs and DRAM DIMMs that meet the requirements.

  2. Remove all the memory modules that are presently installed (see Remove a memory module).

  3. Follow the adopted combination to install all the PMEMs and DRAM DIMMs (see Install a memory module).

  4. Disable security on all the installed PMEMs (see PMEM Management options).

  5. Make sure the PMEM firmware is the latest version. If not, update it to the latest version (see Updating firmware on managed devices with LXCA).

  6. Configure the PMEMs so that the capacity is available for use (see PMEM Management options).

PMEM Management options​

PMEMs can be managed with the following tools:

  • Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager (LXPM)

    To open LXPM, power on the system and press F1 as soon as the logo screen appears. If a password has been set, enter the password to unlock LXPM.

    Go to UEFI Setup > System Settings > Intel Optane PMEMs to configure and manage PMEMs.

    For more details, see the “UEFI setup” section in the LXPM documentation compatible with your server at Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager portal page.

    Note
    If the text-based interface of Setup Utility opens instead of LXPM, go to System Settings > <F1> Start Control and select Tool Suite. Then, reboot the system and press F1 as soon as the logo screen appears to open LXPM.

  • Setup Utility

    To enter Setup Utility:

    1. Power on the system and press F1 to open LXPM.

    2. Go to UEFI Settings > System Settings, click on the pull-down menu on the upper right corner of the screen, and select Text Setup.

    3. Reboot the system, and press F1 as soon as the logo screen appears.

    Go to System Configuration and Boot Management > System Settings > Intel Optane PMEMs to configure and manage PMEMs.

  • Lenovo XClarity Essentials OneCLI

    Some management options are available in commands that are executed in the path of Lenovo XClarity Essentials OneCLI in the operating system. See Downloading and using XClarity Essentials OneCLI to learn how to download and use Lenovo XClarity Essentials OneCLI.

Following are the available management options:

  • Intel Optane PMEMs details

    Select this option to view the following details concerning each of the installed PMEMs:

    • Number of Intel Optane PMEMs detected

    • Total raw capacity

    • Total memory capacity

    • Total App Direct capacity

    • Total unconfigured capacity

    • Total inaccessible capacity

    • Total reserved capacity

    Alternatively, view PMEM details with the following command in OneCLI:

    OneCli.exe config show IntelOptanePMEM --bmc XCC_Account:XCC_Password@XCC_IP
    Note
    • USERID stands for XCC user ID.
    • PASSW0RD stands for XCC user password.
    • 10.104.195.86 stands for IP address.

  • Regions

    After the memory percentage is set and the system is rebooted, regions for the App Direct capacity will be generated automatically. Select this option to view the App Direct regions per processor.

  • Namespaces

    App Direct capacity of PMEMs requires the following steps before it is truly available for applications.

    1. Namespaces must be created for region capacity allocation.

    2. Filesystem must be created and formatted for the namespaces in the operating system.

    Each App Direct region can be allocated into one namespace. Create namespaces in the following operating systems:

    • Windows: Use powershell command. To create a namespace, use Windows Server 2019 or later versions.

    • Linux: Use ndctl command.

    • VMware: Reboot the system, and VMware will create namespaces automatically.

    After creating namespaces for App Direct capacity allocation, make sure to create and format filesystem in the operating system so that the App Direct capacity is accessible for applications.

  • Security

    • Enable Security

      Attention
      By default, PMEM security is disabled. Before enabling security, make sure all the country or local legal requirements regarding data encryption and trade compliance are met. Violation could cause legal issues.
      PMEMs can be secured with passphrases. Two types of passphrase protection scope are available for PMEM:

      • Platform: Choose this option to run security operation on all the installed PMEM units at once. A platform passphrase is stored and automatically applied to unlock PMEMs before operating system starts running, but the passphrase still has to be disabled manually for secure erase.

        Alternatively, enable/disable platform level security with the following commands in OneCLI:
        • Enable security:

          1. Enable security.

            onecli.exe config set IntelOptanePMEM.SecurityOperation "Enable Security" --imm USERID:PASSW0RD@10.104.195.86

          2. Set the security passphrase.

            onecli.exe config set IntelOptanePMEM.SecurityPassphrase "123456" --imm USERID:PASSW0RD@10.104.195.86 --imm USERID:PASSW0RD@10.104.195.86

            Where 123456 stands for the passphrase.

          3. Reboot the system.

        • Disable security:

          1. Disable security.

            onecli.exe config set IntelOptanePMEM.SecurityOperation "Disable Security" --imm USERID:PASSW0RD@10.104.195.86

          2. Enter passphrase.

            onecli.exe config set IntelOptanePMEM.SecurityPassphrase "123456" --imm USERID:PASSW0RD@10.104.195.86

          3. Reboot the system.

      • Single PMEM: Choose this option to run security operation on one or more selected PMEM units.
        Note

        • Single PMEM passphrases are not stored in the system, and security of the locked units needs to be disabled before the units are available for access or secure erase.

        • Always make sure to keep records of the slot number of locked PMEMs and corresponding passphrases. In the case the passphrases are lost or forgotten, the stored data cannot be backed up or restored, but you can contact Lenovo service for administrative secure erase.

        • After three failed unlocking attempts, the corresponding PMEMs enter “exceeded” state with a system warning message, and the PMEM unit can only be unlocked after the system is rebooted.

        To enable passphrase, go to Security > Press to Enable Security.

    • Secure Erase

      Note

      • Password is required to perform Secure Erase when security enabled.

      • Before executing secure erase, make sure ARS (Address Range Scrub) is done on all PMEMs or on the specific PMEMs selected. Otherwise, secure erase cannot be started on all PMEMs or the specific PMEM selected, and the following text message will pop out:

        The passphrase is incorrect for single or multiple or all 
        Intel Optane PMEMs selected, or maybe there is namespace 
        on the selected PMEMs. Secure erase operation is not done 
        on all Intel Optane PMEMs selected.

      Secure erase cleanses all the data that is stored in the PMEM unit, including encrypted data. This data deletion method is recommended before returning or disposing a malfunctioning unit, or changing PMEM mode. To perform secure erase, go to Security > Press to Secure Erase.

      Alternatively, perform platform level secure erase with the following command in OneCLI:

      OneCli.exe config set IntelOptanePMEM.SecurityOperation "Secure Erase Without Passphrase" --bmc USERID:PASSW0RD@10.104.195.86

  • PMEM Configuration

    PMEM contains spared internal cells to stand in for the failed ones. When the spared cells are exhausted to 0%, there will be an error message, and it is advised to back up data, collect service log, and contact Lenovo support.

    There will also be a warning message when the percentage reaches 1% and a selectable percentage (10% by default). When this message appears, it is advised to back up data and run PMEM diagnostics (see the Diagnostics section in the LXPM documentation compatible with your server at Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager portal page). To adjust the selectable percentage that the warning message requires, go to Intel Optane PMEMs > PMEM Configuration, and input the percentage.

    Alternatively, change the selectable percentage with the following command in OneCLI:

    onecli.exe config set IntelOptanePMEM.PercentageRemainingThresholds 20 --imm USERID:PASSW0RD@10.104.195.86

    Where 20 is the selectable percentage.

Adding or replacing PMEMs in App Direct Mode​

Complete the following steps before adding or replacing PMEMs in App Direct Mode.

  1. Back up stored data in PMEM namespaces.
  2. Disable PMEM security with one of the following options:

    • LXPM

      Go to UEFI Setup > System Settings > Intel Optane PMEMs > Security > Press to Disable Security, and input passphrase to disable security.

    • Setup Utility

      Go to System Configuration and Boot Management > System Settings > Intel Optane PMEMs > Security > Press to Disable Security, and input passphrase to disable security.

  3. Delete namespaces with command corresponding to the operating system that is installed:

    • Linux command:

      ndctl destroy-namespace all -f
      ndctl destroy-namespace all -f

    • Windows Powershell command

      Get-PmemDisk | Remove-PmemDisk

  4. Clear Platform Configuration Data (PCD) and Namespace Label Storage Area (LSA) with the following ipmctl command (for both Linux and Windows).

    ipmctl delete -pcd
    Note
    See the following links to learn how to download and use impctl in different operating systems:
  5. Reboot the system.
  • App Direct Mode
    In this mode, PMEMs act as independent and persistent memory resources directly accessible by specific applications, and DRAM DIMMs act as system memory.