Memory Configuration Rules - IBM p5 590 System Handbook

5.2.4 Memory configuration rules

The p5-590 and p5-595 implements a dynamic memory allocation policy that is
more sophisticated than the IBM Sserver pSeries POWER4 systems memory
allocation model. Unused physical memory can be assigned to a partition without
having to specify the precise address of the assigned physical memory in the
partition profile; the system selects the memory resources automatically.
From the hardware perspective the minimum amount of physical memory for
each partition is 128 MB. Additional physical memory can be assigned to
partitions in increments of 16 MB. At the operating system level, the Virtual
Memory Manager (VMM) manages the logical memory within a partition. The
POWER Hypervisor and the POWER5 microprocessor manage access to the
physical memory.
The purpose of this section is to introduce minimum and maximum memory
configurations for the p5-590 and p5-595; provide memory installation guidelines;
discuss different types of supported memory cards; and provide a summary of
overall memory usage and allocation throughout the platform.
In the p5-590 and p5-595, each processor book provides sixteen memory card
slots. The p5-590 supports a maximum of 32 memory cards; the p5-595
supports a maximum of 64 memory cards. The p5-590 and p5-595 have the
following minimum and maximum configurable memory resource allocation
requirements:
Both p5-590 and p5-595 support a require a minimum of 8 GB of configurable
system memory.
p5-590 supports a maximum of 1024 GB of DDR1 configurable memory or
512 GB of DDR2 memory.
p5-595 supports a maximum of 2048 GB of DDR1 configurable memory or
512 GB of DDR2 memory.
Note: 32 GB memory cards to enable maximum memory are planned for
availability April 8, 2005.
Use the following guidelines when configuring memory resources within the
platform:
Memory resources must be installed in identical pairs.
p5-590 and p5-595 servers with one processor book must have a minimum of
two memory cards installed.
p5-590 and p5-595 servers with two processor books must have a minimum
of four memory cards installed per processor book (two per MCM).
Chapter 5. Configuration tools and rules
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