Balanced Memory Configurations with 1st Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors

Configuring a server with balanced memory is important for maximizing its memory bandwidth and overall performance. Lenovo ThinkSystem servers running Intel Xeon Scalable Family processors have six memory channels per processor and up to two DIMMs per channel, so it is important to understand what is considered a balanced configuration and what is not.

This paper defines three balanced memory guidelines that will guide you to select a balanced memory configuration. Balanced and unbalanced memory configurations are presented along with their relative measured memory bandwidths to show the effect of unbalanced memory. Suggestions are also provided on how to produce balanced memory configurations.

This paper is for customers and for business partners and sellers wishing to understand how to maximize the performance of Lenovo ThinkSystem servers running first-generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors.

Introduction
Memory interleaving
Balanced memory configurations
About the tests
Memory topology
Applying the balanced memory configuration guidelines
Summary of the performance results
Summary
Authors

Changes in the November 20 update:

• Grammar and readability corrections

Other Balanced Memory papers

Related product families

Product families related to this document are the following:

• 2-Socket Rack Servers
• 4-Socket Rack Servers
• Blade Servers
• Memory
• Processors
• Supercomputing Servers