PMEM power consumption

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Ana Khorguani

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Jan 13, 2022, 11:35:10 AM1/13/22
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Hello, 

Based on the information available up until now, I expected Intel Optane DC PMEM to consume almost no energy. To justify this information, I did some experiments.

I have one machine (A) equipped with 2 x Intel Xeon Gold 5218, with 1.5 TB Intel Optane PMEM, configured in App direct mode and the DRAM capacity of 384 GB. Since it is a two-socket machine, per socket, there is 192 GB DRAM and 750 GB PMEM.

Second machine (B) comes with 4 x Intel Xeon Gold 6130 and 768 GB DRAM, without PMEM. Per socket there is 192 GB  DRAM.

The power consumption of idle (active standby) memory, measured with RAPL for one socket (both machines have the same amount of DRAM capacity per socket), is 2.8 times higher on machine A (equipped with PMEM) compared to machine B, which does not have PMEM. (Net difference: 21 Watt). 

Given that this difference is not negligible, I am unsure if RAPL is not precise enough and does not measure DRAM power consumption correctly, or if this difference is something expected and/or documented? 

Thank you for any information in advance. 

Best regards,
Ana
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