Intel® Optane™ Persistent Memory
Examine Issues Related to Intel® Optane™ Persistent Memory
62 Discussions

initial optane configuration for linux

geekiehiway
Beginner
3,783 Views

Hello, my Lenovo 330S laptop, of course, came preinstalled with Windows. I installed Fedora 33 linux and I am trying to get this configured with Optane. I have searched and looked at resources but there is no step-by-(specific)step for configuration. I have the DCPMM Basic Setup guide from Intel.

Skipping through a few irrelevant instructions it says check available memory. /proc/meminfo indicates 8GB installed which is correct but there should be 16GB Optane somewhere. It then says run your applications (?????). A few details seem to be left out. 

Then, specifically, it says to run the command 'ipmctl create -goal PersistentMemoryType=AppDirect' to which the response is "No functional PMem modules in the system".

Can I get some specific instructions to accomplish my linux configuration?

Thank you.

0 Kudos
7 Replies
SteveScargall
Employee
3,761 Views

@geekiehiway The H10 is an NVMe block device (disk), not byte-addressable memory. The ipmctl utility is intended for use with the Intel Optane Persistent Memory (PMem) product. The byte-addressable PMem product that can be used as memory and storage is only supported on datacenter servers and workstations that use the Xeon CPUs, and won't work on commodity products such as desktops or laptops. 

You should use the H10 like any other disk, and it should be available in disk commands such as lsblk, fdisk, gparted, etc. The controller on the H10 handles all the data allocation and movement between Optane and NAND internally, so you don't need to do anything from the OS or BIOS to make it work. 

0 Kudos
geekiehiway
Beginner
3,758 Views

Ok, well color me very confused. What is the benefit to the H10? It's been touted as a substitute to addressable memory and where do I get instructions to utilize the benefits?

0 Kudos
SteveScargall
Employee
3,744 Views

There are several Optane Technology products available for Client and Data Center. The collateral uses terms such as 'Optane Memory' which refers to the physical package (chip) vs the communication protocol. The only Optane product that is byte-addressable is the Intel Optane Persistent Memory (DIMM Form Factor). All other Optane products are disks (block-based), including the H10. These block-based devices plug into the PCIe bus and communicate using the NVMe protocol which does not support memory load/store operations directly from the CPU. When browsing Optane products, look at the 'Interface' line item. If it says 'DDRT', then it's a memory device, if it shows 'PCIe and/or NVMe', then it's a disk block-based device. Controllers on the device handle protocol exchanges and optimize the I/O between the Optane media and NAND media within the device. 

The Intel H10 Product Brief hopefully makes it clear that this is a disk device, not a memory device.  The H10 FAQ should answer your questions on use-cases and benefits. There are more in-depth device specifications on the H10 product page. The Optane on the H10 is used to accelerate I/O because it has higher bandwidth and lower latency than the high capacity QLC NAND packages. There is an RSTCLI utility for Windows and Linux you can download and use to manage the H10 to control how the Optane part of the device is used - https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/189227/Intel-Optane-Memory-H10-with-Solid-State-Storage

 

0 Kudos
geekiehiway
Beginner
3,723 Views

The only tools available in that link are for the Windows OS. No searches bring up any Linux versions.

0 Kudos
BrusC_Intel
Moderator
3,697 Views

Hello, geekiehiway.


Intel Optane Memory H10 is an SSD designed for storage and not intended for Linux environments, it is only supported in Windows 10 and this does not count or adds to your current DRAM installed.


The Optane Memory H10 in your system can be considered a 2-in-1 solid-state drive, it has 16GB of Optane Memory and 256GB of NAND storage, and with the help of the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver, this is can be configured so the 16GB portion work as a type of cache for the 256GB portion, thus providing better performance.


There is no real reason for you to use an Optane Memory H10 in your system if you intend to use it in Linux as there is no official method for you to pair both portions of the SSD, you would be better off with a different high-end PCIe NVMe drive.


I hope this helps you clear the confusion, I will proceed to close the thread on May 5th, but if you have any questions, please let me know.


Best regards,


Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician


0 Kudos
geekiehiway
Beginner
3,689 Views

The only thing that is obviously certain, is that intel could care less about non-windows users. I spent hard earned money for this product. As an experienced 35 year systems engineer, it seems intel is up to its non-disclosure games from the past. I was excited about deploying this technology. You will no undoubtedly blame me for a lack of research on the product before purchasing but your own employees are providing inaccurate information. PLEASE DISCLOSE NON-WINDOWS USERS NOT WELCOME.  

0 Kudos
BrusC_Intel
Moderator
3,664 Views

Hello, geekiehiway.

 

I completely understand your position, but with this being a matter of system requirements/limitations, means that there is no additional assistance we can offer you.

 

The only recommendation I can provide right now would be to contact the store/website where you bought the system to check if they can accommodate something for you, or help you restore the system to its original factory configuration to use it as intended by the manufacturer.

 

I will proceed to close the thread right now, but if you need any type of assistance from Intel in the future, you can always contact us back by opening a new thread or contacting us via any of the other support methods (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/contact-support.html).

 

Best regards,

 

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

 

0 Kudos
Reply