ECC & Non-ECC

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Nicolai

Member
Sep 4, 2020
37
2
8
Hello everyone.

You guys here have already given me more detailed answers, that allowed me to learn than any other forum I've used in the past to learn about servers. Thank you so much!

Now I have a new question. I'm in the process on deciding on hardware to use in my server. It will have 2 (maybe 3) functions.
  1. Function as a NAS.
  2. Run Plex Media Server and Handshake.
  3. (Maybe) Run a VM with Windows 10 Pro to my TV.
The hardware I've decided on so far is a SilverStone SST-RM400 rackmount with an 1 (and in time 2) Hot-Swap bays from SilverStone Technology for storage, where I still need to find out, if I'm best of using the WD Red series or the Seagate IronWolf series, although I'd like to find a 5.400 rpm option since it's supposed to be located in my living room. I'm going to occupy the case with an Asus WS C246 Pro and an Intel Xeon E-21xx or Intel Xeon E-22xx APU. Now for the problem I'm facing.

To ECC or not to ECC, that is the question. I'd like to ECC the NAS part, since I do plan on using it for storing photos I've edited for work. But I'm finding it hard to find Dual Channel ECC sticks, so if I take 2 single, identical sticks, will/can they run in Dual Channel mode?

I know ECC wouldn't be needed for a Windows 10 Pro VM that's simply just for playing games and mocking around with, so if I do equip ECC for the VM, can I then equip non-ECC in the other channel and pass that through to the VM?

Best regards and thank you for all the help I've recieved so far.
 

sboesch

Active Member
Aug 3, 2012
467
95
28
Columbus, OH
You should use ECC, I have had data corruption with non ECC modules and ZFS. You can use two identical modules that were not sold as a set. You can not mix and match ECC and non ECC memory on your system board. You can not passthrough memory to a VM.
 

Nicolai

Member
Sep 4, 2020
37
2
8
You should use ECC, I have had data corruption with non ECC modules and ZFS. You can use two identical modules that were not sold as a set. You can not mix and match ECC and non ECC memory on your system board. You can not passthrough memory to a VM.
If I use 2 or 4 identical modules, will they run dual channel, as if I bought a regular dual channel RAM sticks?

How does the allocation of memory to VMs work then, if it's not being passed through like a GPU or cpu cores would?
 

msg7086

Active Member
May 2, 2017
423
148
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Multi memory sticks kit is just a bundle of multiple identical sticks. Like, they literally grab 2 or 4 sticks from the bin, and put into the same box, wrap it, and sell it to you. Ideally you want them to be in the same batch, or at least has the same model number. But even if you mix and match from different brand or model, they would still work.

Memory allocation is done by page locking. The OS will lock piles of memory pages, and your hypervisor would translate the memory address inside VM to the address outside VM. Memory management is done by host OS, and OS usually only exposes a virtual, flat memory space, and not physical memory space. So, for example, programs will see a 4GB size space even if the physical memory is only 1GB.
 
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Nicolai

Member
Sep 4, 2020
37
2
8
Multi memory sticks kit is just a bundle of multiple identical sticks. Like, they literally grab 2 or 4 sticks from the bin, and put into the same box, wrap it, and sell it to you. Ideally you want them to be in the same batch, or at least has the same model number. But even if you mix and match from different brand or model, they would still work.
Thank you very much for that answer, it was very detailed and it helped me understand a lot. Just one more question, how would I know if a memory stick is a multi memory stick if I buy them as individual sticks?
 

alex_stief

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2016
884
312
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There is no such thing as a 'multi memory stick'. DIMMs are DIMMs. Put two sticks that are similar enough into the right slots, and you get dual-channel memory. Assuming the platform supports dual-channel
 

msg7086

Active Member
May 2, 2017
423
148
43
36
if a memory stick is a multi memory stick
"Multi memory sticks" is just multiple memory sticks.

Imagine you are preparing your flatware set for dinner. You simply grab 2 forks, 2 spoons and a knife, put them together on the table, and call it a day, right? It's same here, you grab 2 memory sticks that matches, and put them into the slots, and that's it.
 
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Nicolai

Member
Sep 4, 2020
37
2
8
"Multi memory sticks" is just multiple memory sticks.

Imagine you are preparing your flatware set for dinner. You simply grab 2 forks, 2 spoons and a knife, put them together on the table, and call it a day, right? It's same here, you grab 2 memory sticks that matches, and put them into the slots, and that's it.
I love that description, made me laugh!