Lenovo ThinkSystem Servers with Intel® Optane™ DC Persistent Memory Module Support

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides information about the persistent memory support on Lenovo ThinkSystem servers.

Disclaimer: The partner solution referenced in this article is a solution that is developed and supported by the partner. For more information, see Lenovo Product Guide for Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory.

Resolution

Server Architecture

Lenovo ThinkSystem server with Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors Gen 2

Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory is an innovative technology that delivers a unique combination of affordable large memory capacity and persistence (non-volatility). The persistent memory technology can help boost the performance of data-intensive applications, such as in-memory analytics, databases, content delivery networks, and high performance computing (HPC), as well as deliver consistent service levels at scale with higher virtual machine and container density.

Detailed Server Architecture Info

For details on the supported server configuration, refer to Lenovo Product Guide for Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory.

For details on VMware ESXi compatibility with Lenovo ThinkSystem servers with persistent memory, refer to the Lenovo OS Interoperability Guide.

Persistent Memory Components

Persistent Memory Modules

Persistent Memory Type	Module Description
Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory	ThinkSystem 128GB TruDDR4 2666MHz (1.2V) Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory
	ThinkSystem 256GB TruDDR4 2666MHz (1.2V) Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory
	ThinkSystem 512GB TruDDR4 2666MHz (1.2V) Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory

Configuration Maximums

Server Model	Supported CPU Series	Certified Maximum Capacity in App-Direct Mode (TB)	Certified Maximum Capacity in Memory Mode (TB)
ThinkSystem SR590	Intel Xeon Platinum 8200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series Intel Xeon Gold 6200/5200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series	2	2
ThinkSystem SR570	Intel Xeon Platinum 8200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series Intel Xeon Gold 6200/5200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series	2	2
ThinkSystem SR650	Intel Xeon Platinum 8200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series Intel Xeon Gold 6200/5200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series	6	6
ThinkSystem SR630	Intel Xeon Platinum 8200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series Intel Xeon Gold 6200/5200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series	6	6
ThinkSystem SR950	Intel Xeon Platinum 8200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series Intel Xeon Gold 6200/5200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series	12	12
ThinkSystem SD530	Intel Xeon Platinum 8200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series Intel Xeon Gold 6200/5200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series	2	2
ThinkSystem SR850P*	Intel Xeon Platinum 8200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series Intel Xeon Gold 6200/5200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series	12	12
ThinkSystem SR850	Intel Xeon Platinum 8200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series Intel Xeon Gold 6200/5200 (Cascade Lake-SP) Series	12	12

Notes:

All servers that support Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory supports the following NVDIMM Platform Capabilities:

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.
* For the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR850P and SR850, due to a known hardware limitation, it is required to enable “useLMCE” kernel boot flag to support local machine check error recovery with ESXi 6.7 U2 and later versions.

Note: LCME is enabled by default on ESXi 7.0 version.

To enable local MCE recovery on ESXi 6.7 system:

In the ESXi console, run these two esxcli commands to set the kernel boot option, use LMCE to TRUE, then reboot the system for changes to take effect.

esxcli system settings kernel set -s useLMCE -v TRUE
/sbin/reboot
After a reboot, verify that the setting took effect by running this command:

esxcli system settings kernel list -o "useLMCE"

Additional Information

Additional Configuration Details

Support Information

vSphere Support for Intel’s Persistent Memory

Persistent Memory certified servers with Intel Optane persistent memory 100 series and 2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors in select configurations, as documented in Knowledge Base article vSphere Support for Intel's Optane Persistent Memory (PMEM), are eligible for VMware support.

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 with configurations not published in Knowledge Base article vSphere Support for Intel's Optane Persistent Memory (PMEM), must contact VMware to file an intent for production deployment request.

At present, production deployment of unpublished configurations 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

For troubleshooting of issues with Intel DCPMM on Lenovo ThinkSystem servers, refer to the Solutions and How-Tos articles on Lenovo Datacenter support page.

For more information on Lenovo persistent memory support, see Lenovo Product Guide for Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory.