Users Guide

Introduction
Dell EMC now offers Intel Optane persistent memory (PMem), a nonvolatile memory that has the same form factor as a
standard DDR4 DIMM. PMem in this document stands for AEP in 14G systems unless otherwise stated.
PMems come in three capacities: 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB.
PMems are installed in the memory slots of the server and are compatible with RDIMMs and LRDIMMs.
PMem can be configured in two modes:
● Memory mode
● App-direct mode
In Memory mode: PMems act as volatile system memory and any RDIMMs or LRDIMMs installed operate as cache for the
PMems.
In App-direct mode: PMems operate as byte addressable memory mapped persistent memory. PMems and DRAM act as
independent memory resources. RDIMMs or LRDIMMs acts as volatile system memory. Applications can access persistent
memory by using memory load or store commands. Legacy applications that access storage as block devices can access
persistent memory (PMem) through the PMem block driver.
PMems do not require an extra power supply or battery and are inherently persistent.
This document is intended to help customers understand the basics of Intel's PMem technology integrated in Dell PowerEdge
systems. It covers the fundamentals of installation and configuration of key settings for both the operating modes.
Topics:
• System requirements
• Terminology
System requirements
Table 1. System Requirements
Component Minimum version required
System R640, R740, R740xd, R840, R940, R940xa, MX740c and MX840c (2 and 4
socket systems)
Processor 2
nd
Generation Intel Xeon Platinum or Gold processors
BIOS R640 - 2.3.10
R740/R740xd/R940 - 2.2.10
R840 / R940xa - 2.3.10
MX740c / MX840c - 2.3.10
CPLD R640 - 1.0.6
R740/R740xd - 1.0.8
R840 - 1.0.6
R940 - 1.0.4
R940xa - 1.0.6
MX740c / MX840c - 1.0.6
iDRAC 3.34.34.34
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Introduction 5