User`s manual

22 23MAXDATA PLATINUM 7200 IR M6Platform Description

The server BIOS also includes two additional memory reliability, accessibility, and serviceability (RAS)

features:

• Memory Sparing: A rank on each Memory Board can be reserved as a “spare” and can

only be used as a backup for other ranks on the same Memory Board. The memory rank that

is configured as spare is held in reserve and cannot be used by the operating system. Hot

removal cannot be performed when in a Memory Sparing configuration.

When the error rate for a failing rank exceeds an established threshold, the contents of that

rank are copied to the spare rank. At the completion of the copy, the failing rank is disabled

and the spare is used in its place. This is called Memory Sparing. By enabling memory sparing,

the total memory of each Memory Board is reduced by the largest DIMM rank installed on the

Memory Board. This ensures that any failing rank will fit on the spare rank.

When the failing rank switches to the spare, the BIOS will turn on the Memory Board LED to

indicate the bad rank. The failing DIMM rank is then disabled on subsequent system boots.

• Memory Hot Plug: This memory RAS feature provides the ability to hot-replace and hot-add

Memory Boards while the system is running. This feature can be used to perform:

- Memory Hot Replace: While the system is in operation, you can remove a failed Memory

Board, provided it is in a RAID or Mirror configuration, and replace it with a board of the

same memory capacity. The system will test, initialize, and rebuild the data on the Memory

Board and then include this board in the system memory configuration. The activity is

transparent to the operating system,

- Memory Hot Add: You can increase the memory capacity of the system while the

operating system is active. In a RAID configuration, you can remove one Memory Board

at a time to upgrade the memory or replace the Memory Board. In a Mirror configuration

you can add an addition two mirrored Memory Boards. In a Maximum Compatibility

configuration, a new Memory Board can be added to an empty slot. When the initialization

is complete, the operating system is informed of the new memory.

 NOTE

Memory Hot Add must be supported by the operating system in order to perform this function. Check

for any operating system restrictions.