Intel® Server System S2600WF Family with Intel® Optane™ DC Persistent Memory Module Support

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides information about server architecture, persistent memory components and support on the Intel® Server System S2600WF Family.

Disclaimer: The partner solution referenced in this article is a solution that is developed and supported by the partner. For more information, see Intel® S2600WF Family.

Resolution

Server Architecture

The Intel® S2600WF product family is built with the latest 2nd Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processor family. This latest generation processor is designed for performance with high scalability and resiliency with no I/O compromise, and supports a wide range of existing and emerging workloads. The Intel® S2600WF product family uses a number of key processor advancements:

Persistent Memory Components

One Intel® Optane™ DC Persistent Memory Module is supported per memory channel with the types and capabilities as described in the tables below.

Persistent Memory Modules

Persistent Memory Type	Module Description
Intel® Optane™ DC Persistent Memory	Intel® Optane™ DC Persistent Memory, 512GB
Intel® Optane™ DC Persistent Memory	Intel® Optane™ DC Persistent Memory, 256GB
Intel® Optane™ DC Persistent Memory	Intel® Optane™ DC Persistent Memory, 128GB

Configuration Maximums

Server Model	Supported CPU Series	Certified Maximum Capacity in App-Direct Mode (TB)	Certified Maximum Capacity in Memory Mode (TB)
S2600WFT	Intel Xeon Platinum 8200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series Intel Xeon Gold 6200/5200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series	6	6
S2600WFO	Intel Xeon Platinum 8200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series Intel Xeon Gold 6200/5200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series	6	6

Notes:

All servers that support Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory support the following NVDIMM Platform Capabilities:
1. Memory Controller Flush to NVDIMM Durability on Power Loss Capable
The ACPI Specification 6.2 defines in section 5.2.20.4 the NVDIMM Platform Capabilities:

CPU Cache Flush to NVDIMM Durability on Power Loss Capable
Memory Controller Flush to NVDIMM Durability on Power Loss Capable
Byte Addressable Persistent Memory Hardware Mirroring Capable

The certified maximum persistent memory capacity is based on installed memory capacity. There is a small difference between installed persistent memory capacity and amount available to ESXi because the system reserves some memory for internal use.
App-Direct Mode is supported in vSphere 6.7 U2 + Express Patch 10(ESXi670-201906002) or later.
Memory Mode is supported in
- vSphere 6.5 U3 or later
- vSphere 6.7 U2 + Express Patch 10(ESXi670-201906002) or later
  - Earlier 6.7 releases are not supported.

Support Information

Intel® Optane™ DC Persistent Memory “Memory Mode” Production Deployment Advisory
Customers interested in using Intel’s Optane DC Persistent Memory in “Memory” mode on the above-certified OEM servers must contact VMware to file an intent for production deployment request. At present, any production deployment requires explicit approval from VMware for support. VMware will continue to work with its customers and ecosystem to adjust the criteria for production deployments. For more information, customers should contact VMware representative.

Troubleshooting and Best Practices

To ensure the best user experience and reliability only specified system configurations are supported at this time. All unsupported configurations will keep the platform from booting.
Refer the Product Spec Update at https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/server-products/server-boards/S2600WF_TPS.pdf for further support details.
For more information on Intel persistent memory support, see Intel.com/optanedcpersistentmemory.

Additional Information

For a current list of known issues for Intel® S2600WF with Intel® Optane™ DC Persisent Memory, visit:
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005748/server-products/server-systems.html