Sun Microsystems has announced that 2GB memory modules are now available for its midrange servers, giving customers twice the memory capacity and better performance from their applications.
Welcoming the announcement, Tertius Bezuidenhout, national systems engineer manager at Sun Microsystems SA, says memory hungry applications such as the ERP systems - SAP, Oracle, JDE, Baan - the escalation in data warehousing and the move towards 64-bit computing make additional memory a key factor.
"With more physical memory, customers can expect better transaction response times and greater system throughput. That's because slower disk access is avoided and also because fewer CPU cycles are spent retrieving data from disk.
"Non-commercial users or companies that require high performance floating point computing such as seismic simulations at mining and exploration companies will also benefit significantly. The more memory thrown at them at a very cost effective level the better," says Bezuidenhout.
He adds that the trend towards more complex, more resource-hungry 64-bit applications is only now picking up steam. "Onboard memory capacity of servers must grow in order to reach new heights in service levels and application availability."
The new "big" memory modules can be ordered for the Sun Enterprise 3500, 4500, 5500 and 6500 servers - Sun's second generation of systems with big memory capacity.
Overall, the company estimates that typical OLTP, DSS and database applications could see performance improvements of 15 percent or more when the 2GB modules are employed. Additional benefits include the accommodation of larger memory-resident databases and the ability to put entire datamarts solely in physical memory.
"Some of the most memory-intensive applications also happen to be among the most essential to high-functioning data centres," adds Bezuidenhout.
The 2GB modules deploy technology that allows customers to double the total memory capacity of each enterprise server, using the same physical space of the former 1GB modules. This delivers solid performance in part from the enlarged pool of physical memory and from noticeably faster memory access and transfer, versus disk-based architectures.
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