Kingston Memory for UCS servers

[xxxionukk]

Hello all

Can I use Kingston Memory in UCS servers? The price difference is around £100 per module !

The servers are still in Warranty and will this be affected?

Thanks

[Walter Dey · Accepted solution]

Not supported ! The supported (Cisco) memory is listed in the functional specs of the blades.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/servers-unified-computing/ucs-b-series-blade-servers/datasheet-listing.html

If you install non Cisco memory , hardware blade warranty will be gone ;-)

[xxxionukk]

Thank you Walter

[carlfern · Accepted solution]

This is a white paper on a study Cisco did on non-Cisco memory. No, third party memory is not always the same as Cisco memory. And we can tell from a Failure Analysis that a non-Cisco dimm was used.

[jagsy66]

Hello. If we were to install refurbished Cisco memory into a UCS environment, would that void the warranty?

[brianspooner]

This is not the correct answer. This is Cisco FUD making it sound like you will get ZERO support if they even notice you have 3rd party memory.Stop the FUD and ignorance on this topic.

Here is Cisco's support policy on 3rd party memory: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/prod_warranty09186a00800b5594.html

Here's what this means in the real world: If you call Cisco TAC for support on your UCS server with 3rd party memory, the only time it's an issue is if they troubleshoot the problem down to being the memory (which is rare..typically a DIMM will either just work or fail). So, if they suspect a memory issue and then notice you have 3rd party memory, all you have to do is keep one of the original Cisco UCS DIMMs around, throw it in and then they will be fine and continue their troubleshooting.

Memory from Cisco (along with every other major server manufacturer), costs anywhere from 2-4x the cost of memory you can buy on your own.

They will tell you the higher cost is due to all the extra product testing and validation they do with it. In my opinion, this in no way justifies a 2-4x price increase. It's really how some of the server manufacturers make the majority of their profits on x86 hardware. Memory DIMMs are a commodity and standards based, there is nothing special about Cisco UCS DIMMs other than their cost.

e.g. 1 Cisco UCS chassis with 4 servers, each with 384GB RAM (for vSphere). That's 24x16GB DIMMs per server, 96 total DIMMs. 3rd party price including limited lifetime warranty: $13,152. Cisco price (w/o lifetime warranty): $31,392. Almost 2.5x the cost. 3rd party memory saves $18,240 on just 4 servers. Imagine if you were deploying 100 servers, you would then save over $450,000 by going with 3rd party memory. STOP THE INSANITY.

It really irks me when you have Cisco trying to scare people away from this. I encourage everyone to use 3rd party memory, screw the vendors trying to rip us off with 2-4x the cost.

Anyone trying to convince you otherwise is just trying to put more money in their pocket.

P.S. The only downside I can think of is simply cosmetic in that you may get some invalid FRU warnings on boot up or in UCS Manager. A small cost to pay for the dramatically lower 3rd party memory prices.