Micron Launch CXL Expansion Module Portfolio

Micron Technology announces sample availability for the Micron CZ120 memory expansion module to customers and partners. Available in 128GB and 256GB capacities, the E3.S 2T form factor CZ120 uses PCIe Gen5 x8 interface and is capable of running up to 36GB/s memory read/write bandwidth. The module improves server performance when incremental memory capacity and bandwidth are required.

Micron Technology announces sample availability for the Micron CZ120 memory expansion module to customers and partners. Available in 128GB and 256GB capacities, the E3.S 2T form factor CZ120 uses PCIe Gen5 x8 interface and is capable of running up to 36GB/s memory read/write bandwidth. The module improves server performance when incremental memory capacity and bandwidth are required.

The CZ120 modules use Compute Express Link (CXL) standards and support the CXL 2.0 Type 3 standard. Micron believes the CZ120 modules will accelerate CXL 2.0 adoption by leveraging a dual-channel memory architecture, delivering higher module capacity and increased bandwidth. The increased memory capacity benefits workloads like AI training and inference modeling, SaaS applications, in-memory databases, high-performance computing, and general-purpose workloads running on a hypervisor on-premises or in the cloud.

Micron’s high-capacity, CXL-based memory expansion modules provide the flexibility to build servers that meet application workload demands with more memory capacity and lower latency. This results in up to 96 percent more database queries per day and 24 percent greater memory read/write bandwidth per CPU than servers using RDIMM memory alone.

The 256GB Micron CZ120 memory expansion modules give independent software vendors, cloud service providers, original equipment manufacturers, and original design manufacturers the ability to build servers with up to 2TB of incremental memory capacity. The additional capacity means better performance and increased memory bandwidth without needing to deploy more servers. By improving the use of compute and memory resources for enterprise and cloud applications, organizations can reduce their capital and operating expenses for their data center applications.

Product Highlights

• Leverages high-volume DRAM production process
• Dual-channel memory architecture for greater bandwidth
• Up to 2TB incremental memory expansion per CPU

Key Features

CZ120 Memory Expansion Module Specifications

Capacity	128GB / 256GB
CXL	2
Form Factor	E3.S 2T
Host Interface	PCIe Gen5 x8
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)	3 Million Hours
Power (typical)	27W / 31W
Module Bandwidth	Up to 36GB/s

Use Cases for CXL-based Memory Expansion

Workloads are becoming increasingly memory bound, and the use of CXL-based memory expansion modules solves this challenge by adding memory capacity and bandwidth. AI/ML and data analytic workloads benefit from the expanded capacity and bandwidth. In-memory databases and general-purpose compute workloads will benefit from the capacity expansion, while high-performance compute workloads will see better performance from the expanded bandwidth.

Qualified customers and partners enrolled in the Micron Technology Enablement Program (TEP) can rely on Micron’s collaboration, quality, and support. Additional TEP benefits include hands-on support to aid in the development of CXL-enabled designs, technical resources such as data sheets and electrical and thermal models to aid in product development and evaluation, and engineering consultation related to signal integrity and other technical support topics.

According to Siva Makineni, vice president of the Micron Advanced Memory Systems Group, they have been developing and testing the CZ120 modules using Intel and AMD platforms capable of supporting the CXL standard. He believes the collaborative efforts will drive faster acceptance of the new CXL 2.0 standard as demands for data centers and memory-intensive workloads continues to grow.

AMD has stated it has validated Micron memory on multiple platforms powered by AMD EPYC processors and has extended the joint efforts to include the new Micron CZ120 memory expansion module. AMD tests with its EPYC 9754 processor are showing impressive results in TPC-H benchmark performance compared to DRAM only.

As organizations explore more ways to cut costs and still deliver high-performance server technology that can meet the demands of modern workloads, CXL offers a cost-effective, flexible, and scalable architectural solution. To maintain flexibility and scalability, servers will need to be dynamically composed to meet the demands of modern and emerging workloads such as AI and deep learning.

Engage with StorageReview

Newsletter | YouTube | Podcast iTunes/Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | RSS Feed