IntroductionDRAM quality and reliability are more important now than ever, mainly because of the increasing use of server virtualization. Virtualization has many benefits, but it dramatically increases the amount of memory servers need for optimal virtual machine performance. This rise in memory use has caused server manufacturers to expand the memory capacity of their systems. In the last 5 years alone, the average memory installed across all HP ProLiant server lines has grown by more than 500%—from 4 GB to well over 30 GB per server.
The growth in memory use has also caused memory manufacturers to increase the storage capacity of DRAM devices from 512 Mb to 4 Gb per chip. Today, a 4 Gb x4 DRAM chip contains more than 4 billion memory cells. Therefore, a quad-rank 32 GB DDR3 DIMM with 72 of these 4 Gb chips (including ECC) has more than 288 billion memory cells. As DRAM cells become smaller, manufacturers also lower the operating voltage to increase the memory speed and decrease power use. The shrinking chip geometry and higher memory speeds make DRAM quality critical for reliable operation.
We understand the difference memory quality makes in server uptime. This paper describes how we qualify HP memory in our extensive HP Memory Qualification (HPMQ) program and back it with the best warranty in the industry. But first, let’s address a major misconception among some customers that “all memory is the same.”
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