Call to action for hot-add memory support in Windows Server
This topic describes how manufacturers can support hot-add memory support in Windows Server.
This information applies to:
- Windows Server 2008 R2, Enterprise Edition and Datacenter Edition
- Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Edition and Datacenter Edition
- Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition and Datacenter Edition
To support hot-add memory in hardware on x86-based and x64-based systems, manufacturers should:
- Implement a mechanism for adding physical memory regions to an operating system instance without requiring operating system downtime or system power operation.
- Design the BIOS to describe hot-add memory accurately to the operating system. In particular:
- Provide a Static Resource Affinity Table (SRAT) to indicate where memory might potentially be hot-added.
- Define memory device objects in the ACPI 2.0 namespace to describe hot-add memory ranges.
- Report available physical memory through the E820 mechanism.
- Perform the POST on resume from hibernate as it did in the previous boot, even though there is now more physical memory in the machine.
To make sure that hot-add memory hardware interoperates well with the supported editions of Windows Server, the Windows Development labs must test this feature on your platforms. Please contact Microsoft and provide test hardware as soon as possible so that we can work together to ensure that hot add memory works well on your platform. For information about submitting hardware to Windows Development labs, write to wintrack@microsoft.com.
Related topics
Hot-Add Memory Support in Windows Server
Static Resource Affinity Table