edac.rst: move concepts dictionary from edac.h
Instead of storing the concepts dictionary inside header file, move it to the subsystem documentation. Signed-off-by: Mauro Carvalho Chehab <mchehab@s-opensource.com>
This commit is contained in:
@@ -1,6 +1,112 @@
|
||||
Error Detection And Correction (EDAC) Devices
|
||||
=============================================
|
||||
|
||||
Main Concepts used at the EDAC subsystem
|
||||
----------------------------------------
|
||||
|
||||
There are several things to be aware of that aren't at all obvious, like
|
||||
*sockets, *socket sets*, *banks*, *rows*, *chip-select rows*, *channels*,
|
||||
etc...
|
||||
|
||||
These are some of the many terms that are thrown about that don't always
|
||||
mean what people think they mean (Inconceivable!). In the interest of
|
||||
creating a common ground for discussion, terms and their definitions
|
||||
will be established.
|
||||
|
||||
* Memory devices
|
||||
|
||||
The individual DRAM chips on a memory stick. These devices commonly
|
||||
output 4 and 8 bits each (x4, x8). Grouping several of these in parallel
|
||||
provides the number of bits that the memory controller expects:
|
||||
typically 72 bits, in order to provide 64 bits + 8 bits of ECC data.
|
||||
|
||||
* Memory Stick
|
||||
|
||||
A printed circuit board that aggregates multiple memory devices in
|
||||
parallel. In general, this is the Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) which
|
||||
gets replaced, in the case of excessive errors. Most often it is also
|
||||
called DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module).
|
||||
|
||||
* Memory Socket
|
||||
|
||||
A physical connector on the motherboard that accepts a single memory
|
||||
stick. Also called as "slot" on several datasheets.
|
||||
|
||||
* Channel
|
||||
|
||||
A memory controller channel, responsible to communicate with a group of
|
||||
DIMMs. Each channel has its own independent control (command) and data
|
||||
bus, and can be used independently or grouped with other channels.
|
||||
|
||||
* Branch
|
||||
|
||||
It is typically the highest hierarchy on a Fully-Buffered DIMM memory
|
||||
controller. Typically, it contains two channels. Two channels at the
|
||||
same branch can be used in single mode or in lockstep mode. When
|
||||
lockstep is enabled, the cacheline is doubled, but it generally brings
|
||||
some performance penalty. Also, it is generally not possible to point to
|
||||
just one memory stick when an error occurs, as the error correction code
|
||||
is calculated using two DIMMs instead of one. Due to that, it is capable
|
||||
of correcting more errors than on single mode.
|
||||
|
||||
* Single-channel
|
||||
|
||||
The data accessed by the memory controller is contained into one dimm
|
||||
only. E. g. if the data is 64 bits-wide, the data flows to the CPU using
|
||||
one 64 bits parallel access. Typically used with SDR, DDR, DDR2 and DDR3
|
||||
memories. FB-DIMM and RAMBUS use a different concept for channel, so
|
||||
this concept doesn't apply there.
|
||||
|
||||
* Double-channel
|
||||
|
||||
The data size accessed by the memory controller is interlaced into two
|
||||
dimms, accessed at the same time. E. g. if the DIMM is 64 bits-wide (72
|
||||
bits with ECC), the data flows to the CPU using a 128 bits parallel
|
||||
access.
|
||||
|
||||
* Chip-select row
|
||||
|
||||
This is the name of the DRAM signal used to select the DRAM ranks to be
|
||||
accessed. Common chip-select rows for single channel are 64 bits, for
|
||||
dual channel 128 bits. It may not be visible by the memory controller,
|
||||
as some DIMM types have a memory buffer that can hide direct access to
|
||||
it from the Memory Controller.
|
||||
|
||||
* Single-Ranked stick
|
||||
|
||||
A Single-ranked stick has 1 chip-select row of memory. Motherboards
|
||||
commonly drive two chip-select pins to a memory stick. A single-ranked
|
||||
stick, will occupy only one of those rows. The other will be unused.
|
||||
|
||||
.. _doubleranked:
|
||||
|
||||
* Double-Ranked stick
|
||||
|
||||
A double-ranked stick has two chip-select rows which access different
|
||||
sets of memory devices. The two rows cannot be accessed concurrently.
|
||||
|
||||
* Double-sided stick
|
||||
|
||||
**DEPRECATED TERM**, see :ref:`Double-Ranked stick <doubleranked>`.
|
||||
|
||||
A double-sided stick has two chip-select rows which access different sets
|
||||
of memory devices. The two rows cannot be accessed concurrently.
|
||||
"Double-sided" is irrespective of the memory devices being mounted on
|
||||
both sides of the memory stick.
|
||||
|
||||
* Socket set
|
||||
|
||||
All of the memory sticks that are required for a single memory access or
|
||||
all of the memory sticks spanned by a chip-select row. A single socket
|
||||
set has two chip-select rows and if double-sided sticks are used these
|
||||
will occupy those chip-select rows.
|
||||
|
||||
* Bank
|
||||
|
||||
This term is avoided because it is unclear when needing to distinguish
|
||||
between chip-select rows and socket sets.
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
Memory Controllers
|
||||
------------------
|
||||
|
||||
|
Reference in New Issue
Block a user