October 2011 - Viking Technologies, part of Sanmina SCI, has introduced a next generation storage class enterprise memory called ArxCis-NV. The product is module that has DDR3 components and technology as well as a SSD solution that is large enough to cover data that may be in the DDR3 portion. This module is a battery-less system that features field replaceable SuperCaps to critical time operation during power loss or scheduled snapshots.
Viking ArxCis-NV Dimensions
The modules are based on a standard JEDEC approved DDR3 socket and operate up to 85C. The DRAM on the modules is either 1.5v or 1.35v low power DDR3. Additionally, the module contains SLC NAND Flash that is at 2X capacity of the DRAM (e.g. 4GB DRAM has 8GB SLC Flash), a logic processor, power monitor circuits and an AMI bios. The module gets normal operating power from the system bus and then has an external and replaceable supercap to power the Flash, DRAM and logic in the event of power outage. The supercap operates normally up to 70C, and then has a deterministic derating curve, so size of the device vs operation length in time can be determined for those enterprise applications that have moved to “high temperature” servers for reduced TCO.
Viking ArxCis-NV Save Cycle
The system works by having normal operation use the DRAM as it would standard memory. In the event of a power outage or under software control for creating a memory “snapshot”, the contents of the DRAM are copied to the Flash portion of the module. This copy includes the DRAM system ECC and is referred to as a “save”. When power is returned, the “restore” function is auto-enabled to copy the contents of the Flash back into the DRAM system memory. These save/restore cycles are either automatic based on the power sense, or on demand via software control. The modules are designed to be maintenance free for at least 5 years, and do not require any board or enclosure modifications. The primary use is for disaster recovery applications which perform under a lower power footprint and lower latency than stanard SSD caching solutions.
Viking ArxCis-NV module with SuperCap
The enterprise system needs to know theat it is an NVDRAM module so the appropriate startup and shutdown functions can be run. There is a BIOS modification/update required for older systems that do not currently support NVDRAM, however SandyBridge and newer systems already support the technology. The modules are currently avaialble.