Why the Choice of DRAM in the Data Center is so Critical

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This guest post from Kingston Technology explores different storage structures and why DRAM performance is so crucial to data center success. 

As a data center designer have you ever wondered how some of your toughest challenges in creating a smooth running and flexible environment for your users could be made easier? Are you concerned that a critical component might fail for your mission-critical applications? Do you need to service the varied needs of the entire company? Kingston Technology is here to help you create a smooth running and flexible environment for all of your demanding users.

DRAM

Modern IT organizations realize that a memory and storage hierarchy from DRAM to Solid State Drives (SSDs) to Hard Disk Drives can be an important data center feature that their users will depend on. (Photo: Pixabay/by blickpixel.)

Kingston Technology is known as a trusted supplier that works closely with customers to give technical guidance and respond quickly to customer queries.  The choice of components in an everyday data center will undoubtedly involve choosing from an array of suppliers. Modern IT organizations require a flexible approach to the deployment of computing resources in order to make maximum use of a limited resource. Servers that are provisioned to run database applications in-memory during the day may be required to execute high performance computing applications or data analytics at other times. By having a flexible provisioning policy, IT organizations together with a trusted partner like Kingston can get the maximum benefit from their computing infrastructure. Kingston Technology excels at supplying DRAM and other storage components as part of a solution for servers in the data center.

The costs of running a data center include many aspects beyond the initial purchase of the base infrastructure. Modern IT organizations realize that a memory and storage hierarchy from DRAM to Solid State Drives (SSDs) to Hard Disk Drives can be an important data center feature that their users will depend on. Maintenance over the expected life of the system is a significant cost as is any downtime. When a system is down, there is the cost involved in diagnosing the failure and scheduling the fix. Without having to spend time on replacing a non-working component, engineers and IT personnel can implement new and innovative solutions for their customers and users. But even more important is the possible lost business or lack of user productivity that results when a system is down.

The most important factor in choosing a DRAM supplier is the confidence that the products that are delivered will work 24 x 7 x 365, supplying data for the most demanding applications.

The server DRAM that is chosen by data center implementers needs to work all the time. Period.  Time is money, having a server not being available and the associated downtime can affect the productivity and income for an entire organization, whether it resides on-premises or is a Cloud data center. Today’s highly-connected IT environment demands that the systems work together and that no component on the critical path to delivering results fails unexpectedly. When an app goes viral and there might be millions of downloads, the data center that services the user requests must be able to respond with updated information that is stored in DRAM. Simply hoping that the increased workloads will not break a component cannot be tolerated. Reliable and high performing DRAM is an important link in the delivery of new and exciting services.

Kingston Technology works directly with the leading chipset makers to make sure that the products that are delivered meet the demanding specifications that they require. In addition, Kingston Technology works directly with the leading motherboard suppliers to ensure that the DRAM that is delivered works flawlessly based on the specific platform that is being purchased.

Different systems within these data centers may require a range of memory configurations to meet a variety of system specifications and workload demands. Trusted accessible advisors at Kingston  can help the data center designer meet performance targets for a range of systems, while maintaining flexibility for different workloads. By working with a manufacturer of DRAM products that deliver a diversity of components, data center operators can be assured that they will not have a patchwork of suppliers to work with. Kingston Technology produces a wide range of server DRAM products that can serve the various performance and capacity needs of any data center designer. You can be assured that the memory that is being purchased has been tested in the specific system that is being delivered, whether as a new system or as an upgrade to an existing server.

The most important factor in choosing a DRAM supplier is the confidence that the products that are delivered will work 24 x 7 x 365, supplying data for the most demanding applications. Kingston Technology backs their products with a lifetime warranty so that customers can be assured that if there is a problem that the replacement parts are delivered with no questions asked.

In order to back a lifetime warranty, Kingston Technology stress tests every component with industry standard and proprietary test methodology, under conditions that exceed normal conditions in a data center. As an example of this dynamic server burn-in, all Kingston server memory is tested to simulate three months of heavy server use within a 24-hour period. This means that the memory access patterns, whatever application or combination of applications that the end user may run, will have been stress tested long before the DRAM gets to the customer. Significant testing eliminates early-life failures, a problem seen across all semiconductor ICs that statistically manifest within the first three months of use, so that data center architects can be confident that the DRAM delivers results from the moment that the memory is turned on.

Kingston Technology has over 30 years experience in delivering memory solutions, both as industry standard DRAM and OEM equivalent, to customers worldwide. Kingston is known for delivering state-of-the-art products that will last for the entire lifecycle of the servers and beyond. With worldwide support and service, Kingston Technology is there to support customers.

More insight can be found at kingston.com, or visit Kingston Technology during VMworld 2018 (booth #2313).