JEDEC DDR4 NVDIMM-P bus protocol standard published

JEDEC, the industry association for microelectronics standards, announced the publication of a standard that defines the JESD304-4.01 DDR4 NVDIMM-P bus protocol. The new standard is expected to “enable the industry to create leading edge solutions” that improve system performance and data availability through the use of persistent memory.

As demand for DRAM capacity and bandwidth continues to grow, there is a need for hybrid DIMM technologies such as NVDIMM-P, which provide an innovative way to use persistent memory in computing systems. Combining the speed of DDR access with the reliability and capacity of non-volatile memory gives design engineers a new approach to data management. But NVDIMM-P is much more than the standard DIMM specification. The standard includes a complete transactional interface protocol compatible with standard DRAM DIMMs, as well as a firmware model for the modules.

According to JEDEC, NVDIMM-P allows you to access read-only memory modules with minimal latency, abstract from the type of media, and increase the volume due to extended addressing. This provides support for Plug-and-Play technology: physically NVDIMM-P modules are connected to standard sockets for DIMM modules and during use interact on the same bus with DDR DRAM DIMM modules. Note that the standard provides full compatibility of NVDIMM-P with existing DDR channels, at the physical and electrical levels, at the protocol and synchronization levels.

The JESD304-4.01 DDR4 NVDIMM-P standard is available for download from the JEDEC website.