Inphi targets The Cloud

Thursday, 19 November 2009

 

Inphi, the high-speed analogue semiconductor company focussed on Cloud computing applications, is sampling an Isolation Memory Buffer which enables a new class of memory modules more attuned to the performance and capacity requirements of modern servers and workstations than existing modules.

'This component is driving the creation of a new class of memory modules - LRDIMMs, or load-reduced, dual-inline memory modules - capable of delivering upward of four times the memory capacity and nearly double the bandwidth', says Inphi.

The idea is that Inphi's Isolation Memory Buffer enables LRDIMMs which, unlike DIMMs (RDIMMs) which limit the amount of memory that can be accommodated to their loading profile, can replace the register with an isolated memory buffer and significantly reduce the load.

Inphi reckons that its core technology offers the module manufacturers an opportunity to deliver a solution that can quadruple server memory capacity and nearly double the bandwidth. Inphi argues that, when server and workstation manufacturers adopt this approach, they will be able support an increased number of memory modules, which themselves offer increased capacity and operate at higher speeds.

"With the rise of virtualisation and the move to cloud computing, memory density and server performance become key issues for data centres," says Young K. Somemory modules hn, president and CEO of Inphi, "working closely with key memory module providers, CPU suppliers, and server and workstation manufacturers, Inphi developed this unique solution to break the current bottleneck and deliver the much-needed higher bandwidth and memory capacity demanded by today's data centres."

Inphi's argument is that, as servers utilise more multicore CPUs and become increasingly virtualised, current memory module capacity cannot keep pace with demand, and server CPUs are limited by how much memory they can address over the memory channel. Inphi's Isolation Memory Buffer, based on its innovative Isolation Memory Buffer (iMB™) technology, enables data centre servers to take better advantage of multicore and virtualization technologies by isolating the CPU from the memory components and then buffering the memory, I/O, control and data signals.

Engineering samples of Inphi's iMB01-GS02 Isolation Memory Buffer come in a RoHS-compliant flip chip BGA and available now for qualified customers. Prices for initial engineering samples are $26.00. Fully qualified parts are expected to begin shipping in Q1 of 2010.

Since first unveiling details of its iMB technology in June 2009, Inphi has worked closely with the JEDEC standards body and with the entire server technology ecosystem to make the benefits of the iMB technology available in standardized form. Of the multiple approaches to memory buffer (MB) technology, JEDEC has chosen Inphi's single-chip configuration as the basis for the standard, which is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2010. At that time, Inphi plans to have JEDEC-compliant iMB parts available.

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