Chipkill
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In computer memory systems, Chipkill is a form of advanced Error Checking and Correcting (ECC) computer memory technology that protects computer memory systems from any single memory chip failure as well as multi-bit errors from any portion of a single memory chip. It performs this function by bit-scattering the bits of an ECC word across multiple memory chips, such that the failure of any one memory chip will affect only one ECC bit. This allows memory contents to be reconstructed despite the complete failure of one chip.
Chipkill is frequently combined with dynamic bit-steering, so that if a chip fails (or has exceeded a threshold of bit errors), another, spare, memory chip is used to replace the failed chip. The concept is similar to that of RAID, which protects against disk failure, except that now the concept is applied to individual memory chips. The technology was developed by the IBM Corporation in the early and middle 1990s. An important RAS feature, ChipKill technology is deployed primarily on mainframes and midrange Unix or Linux servers.
Chipkill is a trademark of the IBM Corporation.
References
- Timothy J. Dell, [A White Paper on the Benefits of Chipkill-Correct ECC for PC Server Main Memory], (1997), IBM Microelectronics Division.
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