Technologies in HP ProLiant Gen8 c-Class server blades

Precise ducting on ProLiant c-Class server blades manages airflow and temperature based on the unique thermal

requirements of all the critical components. The airflow is tightly ducted to ensure that no air bypasses the server blade

and to obtain the most thermal work from the least amount of air moved. Ducting reduces the amount of required

airflow, which in turn reduces the power draw of fans. The lower airflow requirement has the added benefit of

optimizing the available data center cooling capacity.

HP 3D Sea of Sensors

Introduced with ProLiant G6 servers, HP Sea of Sensors provides the data to precisely control the fans and directly cool

specific components, while not overcooling other components. This can reduce fan power consumption up to dozens of

watts per server. HP 3D Sea of Sensors in ProLiant Gen8 server blades extends the use of sensors, adding additional

thermal sensors on HP-branded PCI cards (networking and storage), backplanes, and mezzanine cards. This gives you a

three dimensional view of system cooling, automatically tracking thermal activity across the server. 3D Sea of Sensors is

part of the Thermal Logic portfolio of features designed for thermal and power management. Read more about these

technologies in the “Power monitoring and management” section later in this paper.

Memory technologies

ProLiant Gen8 servers feature HP SmartMemory and enhanced memory protection with HP Advanced Memory Error

Detection Technology.

HP SmartMemory

IT trends such as server virtualization, cloud computing, and high-performance computing require a significant increase

in the average server memory capacity. As a result, DRAM manufacturers are increasing chip component densities to

achieve higher memory capacities. The combination of higher memory demand, component complexity, and availability

requirements has increased the importance of system memory. These increasing memory requirements define the

system’s reliability, performance, and overall server power consumption to a much greater extent than before.

Therefore, choosing the right memory is the key to ensure high reliability and performance, and to deliver a faster return

on your IT investment.

HP SmartMemory is a unique technology introduced for HP ProLiant Gen8 servers, and unlike other third-party memory,

HP SmartMemory authenticates whether memory has passed HP’s rigorous qualification and testing to ensure that

customers are getting the highest quality, genuine HP Qualified Server Memory. HP SmartMemory unlocks certain

performance and high efficiency features optimized for HP ProLiant Gen8 Servers:

 HP SmartMemory uses up to 20% less power than third-party memory while achieving the same performance. At low

voltage (1.35 V), HP SmartMemory operates at DDR3-1333 MHz with one and two DIMMs per channel and at DDR3-

1066 MHz at three DIMMs per channel. In comparison, third-party memory may require 1.5 V to achieve the same

performance.

 HP SmartMemory performance is 25% higher with unbuffered ECC (UDIMM) memory and capable of 1333 MT/s up to 2

DIMMs per channel at 1.35V. Third-party memory provides only 1066 MT/s bandwidth, and often at higher operating

voltage (1.5V).

 New DDR3-1600 RDIMM capabilities for maximum bandwidth

 24GB RDIMM –We developed the only 24GB three rank DIMM. By adding another rank, we give Gen8 server blades

(initially the Gen8 BL460c) a similar cost/capacity point as servers with two sockets per channel.

 New 32GB LRDIMM - Load reduced DIMMs (LRDIMM) increase capacity by 33% enabling HP ProLiant Gen8 Intel 2-

socket server blades to provide up to 512 GB and 4-socket servers to 1.0TB

HP SmartMemory features enhanced reporting through the HP Active Health System and HP iLO (see the “HP iLO

Management Engine” section later in this document). Because of some ProLiant Gen8 SmartMemory features, ProLiant

G7 server DDR3 memory is not interchangeable. One example is the SmartMemory 32GB quad rank DIMM that appears

to the processor as a dual rank type allowing is to use all the lanes. HP SmartMemory is ideal for HP ProLiant Gen8

customers who are looking to extract all the memory performance, dependability, and power savings that ProLiant Gen8

servers are designed to deliver.