I was spec'ing a new laptop tonight, and noticed it had 1 GB of 'Turbo Memory' -- this is a new Intel specification that uses flash memory to cache frequently used items and is only available in Windows-land with Vista. It is not CPU cache nor RAM.
Does anyone know of any work being done to access this new technology in Linux?
Claude Jones wrote:
I was spec'ing a new laptop tonight, and noticed it had 1 GB of 'Turbo Memory' -- this is a new Intel specification that uses flash memory to cache frequently used items and is only available in Windows-land with Vista. It is not CPU cache nor RAM.
Does anyone know of any work being done to access this new technology in Linux?
Google lead me to this: http://www.intel.com/design/flash/nand/turbomemory/index.htm?iid=prod_cpro-o...
Perhaps you could use the "contact us" link at the top of that page to ask intel?
And then report back.
At the very least, it services to show interest, and Intel may well be doing something about it.
It's also worth asking on one or both of RHEL{4,5} lists. I've not noticed him recently, but there has been an Intel chap hanging out there.
On Mon November 19 2007, John Summerfield wrote:
Google lead me to this: http://www.intel.com/design/flash/nand/turbomemory/index.htm?iid=prod_cpro- overview+rhc_turbo
Perhaps you could use the "contact us" link at the top of that page to ask intel?
And then report back.
At the very least, it services to show interest, and Intel may well be doing something about it.
It's also worth asking on one or both of RHEL{4,5} lists. I've not noticed him recently, but there has been an Intel chap hanging out there.
The notebook was an Asus 2GS - I asked here because I figure if anyone might be working on utilizing this new technology in Linux, it might be someone associated with Fedora. The reference to Turbo Memory in the Asus ad led me to find the same page already, that you posted above. I also downloaded the PDF data sheet. Apparently, the new technology relies on a software component (driver?) only available in Vista. There's nowhere any mention of making the technology available in XP. It is being described as a new 'key system component' on a par with ram, cpu, etc... I did try clicking on the contact us button, but it leads to more and more pages, and there wasn't time in my schedule to figure out which contact link would be the most appropriate. Maybe I'll give it another go later...
Claude Jones wrote:
The notebook was an Asus 2GS - I asked here because I figure if anyone might be working on utilizing this new technology in Linux, it might be someone associated with Fedora. The reference to Turbo Memory in the Asus ad led me to find the same page already, that you posted above. I also downloaded the PDF data sheet. Apparently, the new technology relies on a software component (driver?) only available in Vista. There's nowhere any mention of making the technology available in XP. It is being described as a new 'key system component' on a par with ram, cpu, etc... I did try clicking on the contact us button, but it leads to more and more pages, and there wasn't time in my schedule to figure out which contact link would be the most appropriate. Maybe I'll give it another go later...
It sounds like they are using the flash memory as swap. I have seen flash memory that was designed to plug into the motherboard USB header that was advertised to do the same thing in Vista. If this is what they are doing, then implementing it in Linux should be a matter of making it a swap partition/file.
If you get the motherboard,see if it detects it as a USB memory drive. If so, and if you are not dual booting, it would be just a matter of creating a swap partition, (Or making the entire device one big swap device.) and add a fstab entry for it. You would want to give it a label, and use that in place of a device name. You could also do this with a standard "pen" drive. I am not sure about the life of the device, but it might be fun to try it with a flash drive you don't mind loosing.
Mikkel
On Monday November 19 2007 10:39:26 am Mikkel L. Ellertson wrote:
It sounds like they are using the flash memory as swap. I have seen flash memory that was designed to plug into the motherboard USB header that was advertised to do the same thing in Vista. If this is what they are doing, then implementing it in Linux should be a matter of making it a swap partition/file.
If you get the motherboard,see if it detects it as a USB memory drive. If so, and if you are not dual booting, it would be just a matter of creating a swap partition, (Or making the entire device one big swap device.) and add a fstab entry for it. You would want to give it a label, and use that in place of a device name. You could also do this with a standard "pen" drive. I am not sure about the life of the device, but it might be fun to try it with a flash drive you don't mind loosing.
I was wondering about device life as well. It is a little card that has a connector on one end, so, easily replacable, but...
I'm seriously considering that laptop as my next, which I will use for video editing in Windows - but, I always set up my laptops as dual boot, hence the curiousity
On Mon, 2007-11-19 at 11:30 -0500, Claude Jones wrote:
On Monday November 19 2007 10:39:26 am Mikkel L. Ellertson wrote:
It sounds like they are using the flash memory as swap. I have seen flash memory that was designed to plug into the motherboard USB header that was advertised to do the same thing in Vista. If this is what they are doing, then implementing it in Linux should be a matter of making it a swap partition/file.
If you get the motherboard,see if it detects it as a USB memory drive. If so, and if you are not dual booting, it would be just a matter of creating a swap partition, (Or making the entire device one big swap device.) and add a fstab entry for it. You would want to give it a label, and use that in place of a device name. You could also do this with a standard "pen" drive. I am not sure about the life of the device, but it might be fun to try it with a flash drive you don't mind loosing.
I was wondering about device life as well. It is a little card that has a connector on one end, so, easily replacable, but...
I'm seriously considering that laptop as my next, which I will use for video editing in Windows - but, I always set up my laptops as dual boot, hence the curiousity
-- Claude Jones Brunswick, MD, USA
5 years plus
John
Useful Product Life Product life is at least five years or 43,800 power-on hours whichever comes earlier under the following conditions: • Power-on hours: 8,760 per year • Operating Time: 100% of power-on hours • Active/Idle duty cycle: 90% of the time • 1 GB Module Write Rate: 12 GB per day (at 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year for 5 years)1,2 • Environmental: typical operating conditions Notes: 1. Write rate of 12 GB/day is multiplied by module density. Therefore a 2 GB module Write Rate is 24 GB/day and a 4 GB module Write Rate is 48 GB/day. 2. Assumes a data streaming usage model. Please contact Intel Applications Engineering for applicability of other use models. Mean Time Between Failure The Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) is calculated based on a Part Stress Analysis. MTBF for Intel’s Z-U130 Solid State Drives is five million hours. Conditions for the calculation are as follows: • Power-On hours: 8,760 per year • Operating time: 100% of power-on hours • Active/Idle duty cycle: 90% of the time • Environmental Conditions: typical operating ranges
On Mon, Nov 19, 2007 at 01:54:55AM -0500, Claude Jones wrote:
I was spec'ing a new laptop tonight, and noticed it had 1 GB of 'Turbo Memory' -- this is a new Intel specification that uses flash memory to cache frequently used items and is only available in Windows-land with Vista. It is not CPU cache nor RAM.
Does anyone know of any work being done to access this new technology in Linux?
Unfortunately Intel only provided drivers for Vista, and no documentation for this hardware, which is quite disappointing.
It's basically a mini pci express card that exposes some flash. If it adds to the cost to include it, I'd opt out unless you plan on dual booting Vista. (Vista uses it for caching frequently used programs so you can load them faster, instead of hitting disk access bottlenecks. iirc Microsoft calls this "ReadyBoost")
I have one in my Thinkpad, and was mucking around trying to figure out how it works, but free time is always the enemy.
Sorry, Kyle
Mikkel L. Ellertson wrote:
Claude Jones wrote:
The notebook was an Asus 2GS - I asked here because I figure if anyone might be working on utilizing this new technology in Linux, it might be someone associated with Fedora. The reference to Turbo Memory in the Asus ad led me to find the same page already, that you posted above. I also downloaded the PDF data sheet. Apparently, the new technology relies on a software component (driver?) only available in Vista. There's nowhere any mention of making the technology available in XP. It is being described as a new 'key system component' on a par with ram, cpu, etc... I did try clicking on the contact us button, but it leads to more and more pages, and there wasn't time in my schedule to figure out which contact link would be the most appropriate. Maybe I'll give it another go later...
It sounds like they are using the flash memory as swap. I have seen
Cache, not swap. Cache in drive controllers has been around since the early 80s that I know about, just not on intellish toys. Disk controllers on IBM mainframes were computers in their own right (rumours abounded that used S/370-158s, at one time near top mainframes, got reused as disk controllers), so they handled the cache.
flash memory that was designed to plug into the motherboard USB header that was advertised to do the same thing in Vista. If this is what they are doing, then implementing it in Linux should be a matter of making it a swap partition/file.
USB flash is slow. Notebook drives in USB2 enclosures are faster than USB2 flash drives.
If you get the motherboard,see if it detects it as a USB memory drive. If so, and if you are not dual booting, it would be just a matter of creating a swap partition, (Or making the entire device one big swap device.) and add a fstab entry for it. You would want to give it a label, and use that in place of a device name. You could also do this with a standard "pen" drive. I am not sure about the life of the device, but it might be fun to try it with a flash drive you don't mind loosing.
It's unlikely to be seen through the USB infrastructure. I think it more likely it's seen as "part of the drive," or maybe as a PCI{,-X} device, a PC version if the disk controllers I mentioned above.
Kyle McMartin wrote:
I have one in my Thinkpad, and was mucking around trying to figure out how it works, but free time is always the enemy.
What does dmidecode say about it?
Does lspci see it?
Dnia 19-11-2007, pon o godzinie 15:16 -0500, Kyle McMartin pisze:
It's basically a mini pci express card that exposes some flash. If it adds to the cost to include it, I'd opt out unless you plan on dual booting Vista. (Vista uses it for caching frequently used programs so you can load them faster, instead of hitting disk access bottlenecks. iirc Microsoft calls this "ReadyBoost")
If it's just memory available over PCI, it could be used as swap. http://hedera.linuxnews.pl/_news/2002/09/03/_long/1445.html But I don't see the point. Maybe it would be better utilised as ext3/reiserfs/zfs/other fs journal device, similarly to NVRAM cache in storage arrays? Maybe as device for Jens' Axboe fscache? Or for caching HDD using cachefs (or how this is called nowadays)? Adding PCI Express card for swap seems like overkill.
It is just about a year ago that Claude submitted the inquiry below. I'm seriously looking at the Lenovo ThinkPad T500, and it is offering a 2 Gb Turbo Memory device. Can Fedora 10 use this? Is there an open-source driver anywhere?
The Lenovo website is saying if I pick this I will have to give up the integrated Bluetooth PAN, but I assume I can just add a Bluetooth thingie as an ExpressCard or PC Card. Or maybe I can do the reverse -- keep the integrated PAN and hunt around for an ExpressCard Turbo Memory thingie...
Thanks
Bob Cochran
Claude Jones wrote:
I was spec'ing a new laptop tonight, and noticed it had 1 GB of 'Turbo Memory' -- this is a new Intel specification that uses flash memory to cache frequently used items and is only available in Windows-land with Vista. It is not CPU cache nor RAM.
Does anyone know of any work being done to access this new technology in Linux?
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: Turbo Memory From: Robert L Cochran cochranb@speakeasy.net To: For users of Fedora fedora-list@redhat.com Date: 11/16/2008 03:52 PM
It is just about a year ago that Claude submitted the inquiry below. I'm seriously looking at the Lenovo ThinkPad T500, and it is offering a 2 Gb Turbo Memory device. Can Fedora 10 use this? Is there an open-source driver anywhere?
The Lenovo website is saying if I pick this I will have to give up the integrated Bluetooth PAN, but I assume I can just add a Bluetooth thingie as an ExpressCard or PC Card. Or maybe I can do the reverse -- keep the integrated PAN and hunt around for an ExpressCard Turbo Memory thingie...
We already have a technology that's better: Ram Drive
Plus, you could outfit your laptop with a flash drive and run the OS completely off of it without having a single spinning traditional HDD. Google search this though. You'll find the power savings and performance are not worth the money.
TurboMemory is a joke meant to sell Vista.
Why waste a PCMCIA port on a bluetooth adapter? They come in USB form.