ProLiant Reliability and Advanced Memory Features

ProLiant servers have a reputation for quality and reliability. The advanced features found in ProLiant are designed to provide a higher level of performance and reliability to live up to their reputation. Common server components are designed and built to stricter specifications and testing. In many cases, they incorporate advanced technologies developed through continued research and development.

Memory

HP ProLiant memory provides the highest quality for higher reliability. Memory integrity is paramount for highly available fault-tolerant systems. The ever-increasing demand for faster memory in higher-capacity modules at decreasing voltage calls for a strict and thorough memory evaluation and qualification process.

ProLiant memory has an indisputable reputation for quality and reliability. HP's continuing commitment to ProLiant memory quality, fault tolerance, and error-correction technologies began at Compaq with the first ProLiant and has been ongoing with the development of patented memory error-correction technologies. Today, the commitment continues with ProLiant AMP (Advanced Memory Protection) technologies.

Advanced Memory Protection (AMP) technologies

ProLiant servers currently offer three levels of AMP that provide increasing levels of fault tolerance: Online Spare Memory, Hot Plug Mirrored Memory, and Hot Plug RAID Memory. RAID, in this case, stands for Redundant Array of Industry-standard DIMMs (Dual Inline Memory Module). These AMP technologies are available across the ProLiant platform; all AMP technologies support ProLiant industry-standard DIMMs, as illustrated in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1. HP's servers feature one or more advanced memory technologies.

HP Provides the Highest Quality Memory

The two ways to protect against memory errors are testing and using error detection/correction technologies. The quality of the testing procedure depends on the source of the memory modules. HP is a leader in qualifying and testing memory components for Industry Standard Servers and backs its procedures with an innovative prefailure warranty. HP has long established its leadership in memory error detection/correction technology.

Superior Testing Improves Memory Reliability

As memory chips become faster and more complex, testing them becomes more difficult and expensive. Memory-device manufacturers invest heavily in testing systems, and they continually revamp their testing procedures to maintain device quality. Due to the constant changes in manufacturing processes, HP qualifies each memory module design and manufacturing process to minimize the occurrence of hard errors. In addition to the rigorous qualification of module manufacturers, HP further tests every memory module in the model of server that will be installed. This process includes testing each manufacturer's modules on every model of ProLiant servers currently shipping and requalifying every module manufacturer each time HP offers a new processor speed or a new server platform. This testing and requalification process results in continuous improvement of memory-module reliability.

Three-Year Prefailure Warranty

The superior qualification and testing procedures allow HP to offer a three-year prefailure warranty on HP ProLiant memory. The HP Prefailure Warranty replaces any HP DIMM that exceeds predefined limits for correctable errors. These errors are recorded by the server and can be verified through SIM or diagnostics.

Price and Value

Although HP ProLiant memory is sometimes thought of as being more expensive than other memory modules, price is relative to the value of the product. Avoiding system downtime or data loss caused by memory failure and the financial impact such situations cause far outweigh the momentary benefit of paying less for the initial purchase of memory.

note

The use of third-party memory in a ProLiant server might seem like a reasonable way to save money at the initial purchase or for an upgrade, but when considering the cost of downtime, loss of warranty support, and the difficult-to-diagnose problems caused by inferior memory, this is an unnecessary risk. Almost daily, the ProLiant call center resolves a customer's problem by removing third-party memory from a ProLiant. Don't be the victim of blind cost cutting; performance, fault tolerance, and reliability are valid specifications for any IT purchase.

Single Supplier Convenience

HP offers features and options with full support for HP ProLiant systems and verifies that all components and options work together, ensuring the quality of all HP products from their initial release to their end of life.