Do you want to have access to 96 TB (yes terabytes) of RAM? Check out this CXL expansion box that shows what the future of memory looks like
Do you want to increase server capacity? The Inventec 96 DIMM CXL box might be what you’re looking for. Unveiled at OCP Summit 2024 together with Astera Labs, the CXL Expansion Box allows users to connect up to 96 DDR5 DIMMS to a single server, delivering massive memory capacity that can reach tens of terabytes per memory server.
As reported by ServeTheHomeallows the expansion box to connect to the upcoming eight-way Intel Xeon 6 Granite Rapids-SP server, providing even greater power.
Combined with the Intel
What to expect from the 96 DIMM CXL Expansion Box
What exactly does this announcement mean? Well, we are talking about a significant increase in memory capacity for servers.
The DDR5 DIMMS in question are DDR5-4800, and the expansion box uses the Astera Labs Leo. Elsewhere, users can set up 24 CDFP ports, each of which features a PCIe Gen5 x16 connection that connects the CXL boot and the servers themselves.
If Serve it house The launch shows that users can draw on a significant 20 TB of memory on a single server, which has huge implications for server capacity in the longer term and marks a huge development.
Underlying all this is the growing potential of Compute Express Link (CXL) technology.
In 2023, Meta announced a partnership with AMD to present a memory type that can be added to servers and that can recycle petabytes of RAM.
As part of the collaboration, the two companies demonstrated that CXL can be used to significantly improve memory efficiency, reducing costs and improving performance.
The demo board shown by AMD and Meta featured an AMD EPYC 9004 Genoa, had four dual in-line memory module (DIMM) slots, and a heatsink and fan.
Astera Labs’ involvement here marks the semiconductor company’s second major announcement so far this year. In April 2024, Astera Labs presented its Aries 6 PCIe retimer board, which Ny Breaking Developments reported at the time could yield significant benefits for hyperscalers ramping up AI development.
This retimer board can help maintain the integrity of the data signal through the PCIe interface.
These high-speed data transfers typically suffer from degradation over long distances or due to interference.
The Aries 6 retimers were the first in Astera Labs’ PCIe 6.x portfolio and are specifically aimed at improving networking capabilities for next-generation GPUs, accelerators, CPUs and CXL memory controllers.