Micron Sets New Milestone in CXL 2.0 Memory Qualification for Rapid Ecosystem Adoption

Micron Technology achieves a significant milestone in the development of its CZ120 memory expansion modules, utilizing the CXL standard and collaborating with ecosystem enablers to address data center challenges and drive adoption of CXL solutions.

The CZ120 is the first memory expansion module in the industry to utilize the Compute Express Link (CXL) standard, showcasing Micron's commitment to driving innovation in data center solutions.
The extensive hardware and software testing conducted on the CZ120 ensures reliability, quality, and compatibility with various CPU providers, OEMs, operating systems, and hypervisor vendors.
The CZ120 offers increased capacity and bandwidth, providing significant performance improvements for data-intensive workloads and emerging AI applications.

Micron Technology, a leading provider of data center solutions, has reached a significant milestone in the development of its Micron CZ120 memory expansion modules. These modules utilize the Compute Express Link (CXL) standard, making Micron the first company in the industry to achieve this qualification sample milestone. The adoption of CXL solutions in data centers is crucial for addressing the memory challenges posed by existing data-intensive workloads and emerging AI and ML workloads.

The CZ120 underwent extensive hardware testing to ensure reliability, quality, and performance across different CPU providers and OEMs. Additionally, comprehensive software testing was conducted to ensure compatibility and compliance with various operating systems and hypervisor vendors. This achievement highlights the collaborative efforts of the data center ecosystem to validate the benefits of CXL memory. By testing the combined products for interoperability and compatibility, Micron’s CZ120 memory expansion modules meet the stringent standards required by customers’ data centers.

Vijay Nain, Senior Director of CXL Product Management at Micron, emphasized the company’s commitment to driving CXL adoption in both traditional enterprise and emerging AI applications. This qualification milestone represents a significant step forward in next-generation data centers and positions Micron as a leader in advancing CXL solutions.

With existing server infrastructure struggling to keep up with data-intensive workloads, CXL offers a new architecture that overcomes legacy data bottlenecks. Micron’s CZ120 memory expansion modules using CXL provide the necessary building blocks to address this challenge. These modules offer densities of 128 GB and 256 GB, enabling up to 2 TB of additional capacity at the server level. The increased capacity is accompanied by a bandwidth increase of 38 GB/s, achieved by saturating each of the PCIe Gen 5 x8 lanes. Traditional SaaS enterprise workloads, such as in-memory databases, SQL Server, OLAP, and data analytics, experience significant performance improvements when supplemented with CZ120 memory modules. In fact, CZ120 delivers up to a 1.9 times TPC-H benchmark improvement. Micron’s CZ120 memory also facilitates enhanced GPU large language model (LLM) inferencing, resulting in faster insights and improved GPU utilization.

Micron’s CZ120 memory expansion modules not only meet current data center workload demands but also pave the way for future advancements in efficiency and performance. This aligns with Micron’s commitment to developing memory solutions that push the boundaries of what is possible in the data center.

Several ecosystem enablers have collaborated with Micron on the CZ120 Memory Expansion Modules:

– Red Hat: Red Hat and Micron have worked closely to extensively test and validate the compatibility of Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS with the Micron CZ120 memory expansion modules. This collaboration aims to optimize memory-intensive workloads in today’s data centers and beyond.

– Supermicro: The Supermicro X13 and H13 all-flash Petascale storage servers support Micron’s CZ120 memory expansion modules, providing reliable solutions for data center deployments. The longstanding partnership between Supermicro and Micron benefits a wide range of customers seeking high-quality offerings.

– XConn Technologies: XConn Technologies has collaborated with Micron to ensure compatibility between their low-Latency CXL “Apollo” switches and the Micron CZ120 memory expansion modules. This joint effort significantly improves output for demanding data center workloads, highlighting Micron’s role in developing innovative memory solutions.

Micron CZ120 memory expansion modules are currently available for purchase through OEM channels, including the Supermicro Petascale platform. Availability is expected to expand over the next few quarters.

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Background Information

About Micron Technology: Micron Technology, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, is a global leader in innovative memory and storage solutions. Founded in 1978 by Ward Parkinson, Joe Parkinson, Dennis Wilson, and Doug Pitman, Micron has played a pivotal role in advancing semiconductor technology. The company produces dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), flash memory, and USB flash drives. Micron’s products cater to various applications, including AI, automotive, mobile devices, data centers, and client PCs. Their commitment to innovation and cutting-edge memory technology has positioned them as a key player in the industry.

About Supermicro: Supermicro is a reputable American technology company founded in 1993 and headquartered in San Jose, California. Specializing in high-performance server and storage solutions, Supermicro has become a trusted name in the data center industry. The company offers a wide range of innovative and customizable server hardware, including motherboards, servers, storage systems, and networking equipment, catering to the needs of enterprise clients, cloud service providers, and businesses seeking reliable infrastructure solutions.

Technology Explained

CPU: The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the brain of a computer, responsible for executing instructions and performing calculations. It is the most important component of a computer system, as it is responsible for controlling all other components. CPUs are used in a wide range of applications, from desktop computers to mobile devices, gaming consoles, and even supercomputers. CPUs are used to process data, execute instructions, and control the flow of information within a computer system. They are also used to control the input and output of data, as well as to store and retrieve data from memory. CPUs are essential for the functioning of any computer system, and their applications in the computer industry are vast.

GPU: GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit and is a specialized type of processor designed to handle graphics-intensive tasks. It is used in the computer industry to render images, videos, and 3D graphics. GPUs are used in gaming consoles, PCs, and mobile devices to provide a smooth and immersive gaming experience. They are also used in the medical field to create 3D models of organs and tissues, and in the automotive industry to create virtual prototypes of cars. GPUs are also used in the field of artificial intelligence to process large amounts of data and create complex models. GPUs are becoming increasingly important in the computer industry as they are able to process large amounts of data quickly and efficiently.

Latency: Technology latency is the time it takes for a computer system to respond to a request. It is an important factor in the performance of computer systems, as it affects the speed and efficiency of data processing. In the computer industry, latency is a major factor in the performance of computer networks, storage systems, and other computer systems. Low latency is essential for applications that require fast response times, such as online gaming, streaming media, and real-time data processing. High latency can cause delays in data processing, resulting in slow response times and poor performance. To reduce latency, computer systems use various techniques such as caching, load balancing, and parallel processing. By reducing latency, computer systems can provide faster response times and improved performance.

LLM: A Large Language Model (LLM) is a highly advanced artificial intelligence system, often based on complex architectures like GPT-3.5, designed to comprehend and produce human-like text on a massive scale. LLMs possess exceptional capabilities in various natural language understanding and generation tasks, including answering questions, generating creative content, and delivering context-aware responses to textual inputs. These models undergo extensive training on vast datasets to grasp the nuances of language, making them invaluable tools for applications like chatbots, content generation, and language translation.

PCIe: PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for connecting components such as graphics cards, sound cards, and network cards to a motherboard. It is the most widely used interface in the computer industry today, and is used in both desktop and laptop computers. PCIe is capable of providing up to 16 times the bandwidth of the older PCI standard, allowing for faster data transfer speeds and improved performance. It is also used in a variety of other applications, such as storage, networking, and communications. PCIe is an essential component of modern computing, and its applications are only expected to grow in the future.