Single- and Dual-Rank DIMMs
The DL580 G3 uses Single- and Dual-Rank DIMMs and supports Online Spare, Hot Plug Mirrored Memory, and Hot Plug RAID. Hot Plug RAID (described below) support is new.
PC2-3200 DIMMs can either be single- or dual-rank. While it is not normally important for you to differentiate between these two types of DIMMs, certain DIMM configuration requirements are based on these classifications.
Certain configuration requirements exist with single- and dual-rank DIMMs that allow the architecture to optimize performance. A dual-rank DIMM is similar to having two separate DIMMs on the same module. Although only a single DIMM module, a dual-rank DIMM acts as if it were two separate DIMMs. The primary reason for the existence of dual-rank DIMMs is to provide the largest capacity DIMM given the current DIMM technology. If the maximum DIMM technology allows for creating 2-GB single-rank DIMMs, a dual-rank DIMM using the same technology would be 4-GB.
Understanding the existence of single- and dual-rank DIMMs is all that is necessary for understanding the memory population guidelines of this server.