Advanced memory module to power AI servers unveiled

Innodisk has launched its cutting-edge Compute Express Link (CXL) Memory Module, designed to meet the rapid growth demands of AI servers and cloud data centres. As one of the few module manufacturers offering this technology, the company is at the forefront of AI and high-performance computing.

The demand for AI servers is growing quickly, with these systems expected to account for approximately 65% of the server market by 2024, according to Trendforce (2024). This growth has created an urgent demand for greater memory bandwidth and capacity, as AI servers now require at least 1.2TB of memory to operate effectively. Conventional DDR memory solutions are increasingly struggling to satisfy these demands, particularly as the number of CPU cores continues to multiply, leading to challenges such as underutilised CPU resources and growing latency between different protocols.

The company's CXL memory module meets these challenges by overcoming the limitations of conventional DIMM channels and greatly boosting server system performance. The module supports 32GB/s of bandwidth and data transfer speeds up to 32GT/s via the PCIe Gen5 x8 interface, ensuring the rapid processing capabilities crucial for AI workloads. If equipped with four pieces of 64GB CXL memory modules, the server configured with eight pieces of 128GB DRAM modules can increase its memory capacity by 30% and bandwidth by 40%, which can fulfil the demanding memory needs of AI servers without requiring additional DIMM slots, thereby optimising hardware architecture and reducing system complexity. Also, the CXL memory module allows memory pooling, which optimises memory resource sharing between CPUs and components, greatly reducing redundant memory usage and enhancing overall system efficiency.

The memory module features the E3.S 2T form factor based on the EDSFF standard. This design provides for flexible memory expansion and easy module swapping within servers, ensuring seamless integration with minimal cost and complexity. CXL is an open standard promoted by major industry players, and it is expected to rapidly develop into a comprehensive ecosystem, which is vital for applications in cloud data centres, networking communications, and edge servers.