Linux – Steve Scargall

How to build an upstream Fedora Kernel from source

I typically keep my Fedora system current, updating it once every week or two. More recently, I wanted to test the Idle Page Tracking feature, but this wasn’t enabled in the default kernel provided by Fedora. To enable the feature,...

September 14, 2020

Linux Device Mapper WriteCache (dm-writecache) performance improvements in Linux Kernel 5.8

How To Linux

Linux Device Mapper WriteCache (dm-writecache) performance improvements in Linux Kernel 5.8

The Linux ‘dm-writecache’ target allows for writeback caching of newly written data to an SSD or NVMe using persistent memory will achieve much better performance in Linux Kernel 5.8. Red Hat developer Mikulas Patocka has been working to enhance the...

May 30, 2020

How To Troubleshooting

How To Enable Debug Logging in ipmctl

The ipmctl utility is used for configuring and managing Intel Optane Persistent Memory modules (DCPMM/PMem). It supports the functionality to: Discover Persistent Memory on the serverProvision the persistent memory configurationView and update the firmware on the persistent memory modulesConfigure data-at-rest...

May 29, 2020

Troubleshooting

Intel Optane Persistent Memory Modules report “Non-functional” state in ipmctl

Issue Executing ipmctl show-dimm to get device information shows the persistent memory modules in a ‘Non-functional’ health state, eg: Other ipmctl commands may fail and return “No functional DIMMs in the system.”, eg: Applies To This issue applies to systems...

May 29, 2020

“ipmctl show -memoryresources” returns “Error: GetMemoryResourcesInfo Failed”

Troubleshooting

“ipmctl show -memoryresources” returns “Error: GetMemoryResourcesInfo Failed”

Issue: Running ipmctl show -memoryresources returns an error similar to the following: Applies To: Linux & Microsoft WindowsIntel Optane Persistent Memoryipmctl utility Cause: The Platform Configuration Data (PCD) is invalid or has been erased using a previously executed ipmctl delete...

May 29, 2020

How To

How To Set Linux CPU Scaling Governor to Max Performance

The majority of modern processors are capable of operating in a number of different clock frequency and voltage configurations, often referred to as Operating Performance Points or P-states (in ACPI terminology). As a rule, the higher the clock frequency and...

February 12, 2020

How To Verify Linux Kernel Support for Persistent Memory

How To Linux

How To Verify Linux Kernel Support for Persistent Memory

Linux Kernel support for persistent memory was first delivered in version 4.0 of the mainline kernel, however, it was not enabled by default until version 4.2. If you use a Linux distribution that uses kernel 4.2 or later, or the...

February 11, 2020

How To Extend Volatile System Memory (RAM) using Persistent Memory on Linux

How To Linux

How To Extend Volatile System Memory (RAM) using Persistent Memory on Linux

Intel(R) Optane(TM) DataCenter Persistent Memory delivers a unique combination of affordable large capacity and support for data persistence. Electrically compatible with DDR4, large capacity modules up to 512GB each can be installed in compatible servers alongside DDR on the memory...

July 9, 2019

Using Linux Volume Manager (LVM) with Persistent Memory

How To

Using Linux Volume Manager (LVM) with Persistent Memory

In this article, we show how to use the Linux Volume Manager (LVM) to create concatenated, striped, and mirrored logical volumes using persistent memory modules as the backing storage device. Specifically, we will be using the Intel® Optane™ Persistent Memory...

May 21, 2019