Dell poweredge 750, do i have ECC?

Draal · 11-08-2009, 11:55 AM

Hi Guys

i've got a poweredge 750 which is already a few years old, it only has 512mb ram so i want to upgrade it to 4gb

however, i dont know if the server has ECC memory installed

root@Files01:/mnt/config# dmidecode --type memory | less

Code:

Physical Memory Array
        Location: System Board Or Motherboard
        Use: System Memory
        Error Correction Type: Multi-bit ECC
        Maximum Capacity: 4 GB
        Error Information Handle: Not Provided
        Number Of Devices: 4

Handle 0x1100, DMI type 17, 23 bytes
Memory Device
        Array Handle: 0x1000
        Error Information Handle: Not Provided
        Total Width: 72 bits
        Data Width: 64 bits
        Size: 256 MB
        Form Factor: DIMM
        Set: 1
        Locator: DIMM1_A
        Bank Locator: Not Specified
        Type: DDR
        Type Detail: Synchronous
        Speed: 400 MHz (2.5 ns)

Handle 0x1102, DMI type 17, 23 bytes
Memory Device
        Array Handle: 0x1000
        Error Information Handle: Not Provided
        Total Width: 72 bits
        Data Width: 64 bits
        Size: No Module Installed
        Form Factor: DIMM
        Set: 2
        Locator: DIMM2_A
        Bank Locator: Not Specified
        Type: DDR
        Type Detail: Synchronous
        Speed: 400 MHz (2.5 ns)

Handle 0x1101, DMI type 17, 23 bytes
Memory Device
        Array Handle: 0x1000
        Error Information Handle: Not Provided
        Total Width: 72 bits
        Data Width: 64 bits
        Size: 256 MB
        Form Factor: DIMM
        Set: 1
        Locator: DIMM1_B
        Bank Locator: Not Specified
        Type: DDR
        Type Detail: Synchronous
        Speed: 400 MHz (2.5 ns)

Handle 0x1103, DMI type 17, 23 bytes
Memory Device
        Array Handle: 0x1000
        Error Information Handle: Not Provided
        Total Width: 72 bits
        Data Width: 64 bits
        Size: No Module Installed
        Form Factor: DIMM
        Set: 2
        Locator: DIMM2_B
        Bank Locator: Not Specified
        Type: DDR
        Type Detail: Synchronous
        Speed: 400 MHz (2.5 ns)

tells me that i have 2*256mb installed.
Error Information Handle: Not Provided

does that mean the current memory isnt ecc?

thanks!

thorkelljarl · 11-08-2009, 12:28 PM

The first mention...

"Physical Memory Array" states ECC.

You can run the command "lshw" as root and look down the list for the memory to check. "lshw" will also give you the number of memory slots on the motherboard.

If you want to be extra sure, open the case, take one out, and Google the model number you should find on the memory stick.

Google tells me that this server will accept both ECC and non-ECC memory, but that they may not mixed . If you want to upgrade, you should note the price difference for a given performance gain.

Draal · 11-08-2009, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thorkelljarl

The first mention...

"Physical Memory Array" states ECC.

You can run the command "lshw" as root and look down the list for the memory to check. "lshw" will also give you the number of memory slots on the motherboard.

If you want to be extra sure, open the case, take one out, and Google the model number you should find on the memory stick.

Google tells me that this server will accept both ECC and non-ECC memory, but that they may not mixed . If you want to upgrade, you should note the price difference for a given performance gain.

Thanks for your information

Quote:

*-memory
description: System Memory
physical id: 1000
slot: System board or motherboard
size: 512MiB
*-bank:0
description: DIMM DDR Synchronous 400 MHz (2.5 ns)
physical id: 0
slot: DIMM1_A
size: 256MiB
width: 64 bits
clock: 400MHz (2.5ns)
*-bank:1
description: DIMM DDR Synchronous 400 MHz (2.5 ns) [empty]
physical id: 1
slot: DIMM2_A
width: 64 bits
clock: 400MHz (2.5ns)
*-bank:2
description: DIMM DDR Synchronous 400 MHz (2.5 ns)
physical id: 2
slot: DIMM1_B
size: 256MiB
width: 64 bits
clock: 400MHz (2.5ns)
*-bank:3
description: DIMM DDR Synchronous 400 MHz (2.5 ns) [empty]
physical id: 3
slot: DIMM2_B
width: 64 bits
clock: 400MHz (2.5ns)

it doesnt show ECC, so i can assume its normal memory?

i cant open the case as the server is in a datacentre 200km away, therefor i want to know before going there

thorkelljarl · 11-08-2009, 05:31 PM

If that was from lshw...

The information doesn't show that it is ECC. It also gives the clock speed as 400MHz at 2.5ns, which corresponds to PC3200 RAM.

Is this the original RAM for the server? Is Dell Poweredge 750 the only model designation for this server;what does "lshw" tell you?

I ask, because there should be several clock speeds of RAM that might run in this server, and it would be nice if one could find more detailed specifications.

You can use a faster RAM than the motherboard specifies. The higher clock speed may not give any gain in performance, but you might find larger RAM sticks at a lower price in a later production, faster specification RAM. In case you want to switch to ECC, a higher than necessary clock speed might just mean a higher price.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR_SDRAM