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CXL Gathers Momentum at FMS 2024: New Modules, Accelerators, and Expanding Ecosystem

Here’s a breakdown of the provided text, focusing on the Marvell Structera product line:

Overall Purpose:

The Marvell Structera product line is designed to enhance server memory capacity and performance, particularly for hyperscalers. It leverages CXL (compute express Link) technology to achieve this.

Key Products and their Features:

Structera A 2504 (Accelerator):
Type: PCIe 5.0 x16 CXL 2.0 device.
Compute: Integrates 16 Arm Neoverse V2 (demeter) cores running at 3.2 GHz.
Memory: Four DDR5-6400 channels, supporting up to two DIMMs per channel.
Key Features: In-line compression and decompression.
Benefits: Scales memory bandwidth and compute capabilities, suitable for applications like Deep-Learning Recommendation Models (DLRM), reduces energy consumption, and aids in server disaggregation for better thermal design.

Structera X 2404 (Expander):
Type: PCIe 5.0 device (single x16 or two x8).
Memory: Four DDR4-3200 channels, supporting up to 3 DIMMs per channel.
Key Features: In-line (de)compression, encryption/decryption, secure boot with hardware support. Power: Expected to consume around 30W (compared to 100W TDP for the X 2404).
Primary Purpose: Enables hyperscalers to recycle DDR4 DIMMs (up to 6 TB per expander) and increase server memory capacity.

Structera X 2504 (Expander):
Type: Similar to the X 2404 but with DDR5 memory.
Memory: four DDR5-6400 channels, supporting two DIMMs per channel (up to 4 TB per expander).
Other Aspects: Shares other features with the DDR4-recycling part.

Unique Aspects of the Structera Product Line:

Inline Compression: Optimizes available DRAM capacity.
3 DIMMs per Channel (DDR4 Expander): Maximizes DRAM per expander compared to competing solutions.
5nm Process: Lowers power consumption.
Multi-Host Support: Allows access from multiple hosts.
Arm Neoverse V2 Cores (A 2504): A first for a CXL accelerator, enabling delegation of compute tasks for improved system performance.

Market Focus and Availability:

target Audience: Primarily hyperscalers.
Customer Demand: High demand from hyperscalers looking to recycle DDR4 memory modules.
Sampling: Expected to be a few quarters away.
* CXL Market: CXL is in its early stages of adoption, with meaningful growth expected in the future as more CXL-supported host systems are deployed.

In essence, Marvell’s Structera line aims to provide flexible, efficient, and high-performance memory solutions for modern servers, with a strong emphasis on enabling memory reuse and boosting overall system capabilities through CXL technology.

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