Micron Technology, a leader in innovative data center solutions, today announced it has achieved its qualification sample milestone for the Micron CZ120 memory expansion modules using Compute Express Link (CXL). Micron is the first in the industry to achieve this milestone, which accelerates the adoption of CXL solutions within the data center to tackle the growing memory challenges stemming from existing data-intensive workloads and emerging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) workloads.

Using a new and emerging CXL standard, the CZ120 required substantial hardware testing for reliability, quality and performance across CPU providers and OEMs, along with comprehensive software testing for compatibility and compliance with OS and hypervisor vendors. This achievement reflects the collaboration and commitment across the data center ecosystem to validate the advantages of CXL memory. By testing the combined products for interoperability and compatibility across hardware and software, the Micron CZ120 memory expansion modules satisfy the rigorous standards for reliability, quality and performance required by customers' data centers."Micron has collaborated with participants in the data center ecosystem to drive CXL adoption to fuel mission-critical, data-intensive workloads for both traditional enterprise and emerging AI applications," said Vijay Nain, senior director of CXL Product Management at Micron. "More than an incremental improvement, this qualification milestone redefines what's possible in next-generation data centers, positioning Micron at the forefront of the industry in the advancement of CXL solutions."

With existing server infrastructure struggling to meet the needs of data-intensive workloads, CXL offers a new architecture to break through legacy data bottlenecks. The Micron CZ120 memory expansion modules using CXL provide the needed building blocks to solve this challenge. These modules offer 128 GB and 256 GB densities and enable up to 2 TB of added capacity at the server level. This higher capacity is complemented by a bandwidth increase of 38 GB/s that stems from saturating each of the PCIe Gen 5 x8 lanes. Traditional SaaS enterprise workloads such as in-memory databases, SQL Server, OLAP and data analytics see a substantial performance increase when the system memory is augmented with CZ120 memory modules, with CZ120 delivering up to a 1.9 times TPC-H benchmark improvement. Enhanced GPU large language model (LLM) inferencing is also facilitated with Micron's CZ120 memory, leading to faster time to insights and better sustained GPU utilization.

With memory solutions like the CZ120, Micron is not only meeting the current demands of data center workloads but is also paving the way for future advancements that raise the bar for efficiency and performance in the data center.

Ecosystem Enablers on Micron's CZ120 Memory Expansion Modules
Red Hat:
"Red Hat and Micron have worked closely to extensively test and validate the Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS with the Micron CZ120 memory expansion modules to deliver more seamless integration in the data center environment as we work toward certification," said Gunnar Hellekson, vice president and general manager, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat. "This joint effort will assist in the optimization of memory-intensive workloads in today's data centers and well into the future."

Supermicro:
"The Supermicro X13 and H13 all-flash Petascale storage servers support Micron's CZ120 memory expansion modules to deliver validated, tested and proven solutions for data center deployments," said Don Clegg, senior vice president of Worldwide Sales at Supermicro. "Our longstanding relationship and joint efforts with Micron benefit a wide variety of key customers who require the highest quality, most reliable offerings available in the industry."

XConn Technologies:
"Our joint effort with Micron to ensure compatibility between our low-latency CXL "Apollo" switches and the Micron CZ120 memory expansion modules will have a significant impact on improving output for even the most demanding data center workloads," said Gerry Fan, chief executive officer, XConn Technologies. "By achieving this latest CXL qualification milestone, Micron continues to underscore their integral role in the development of new, innovative memory solutions."

Micron CZ120 memory expansion modules are available for purchase now in production volume through OEM channels, such as the Supermicro Petascale platform, with additional availability continuing to grow over the next several quarters.