AlphaServer 8200/8400 System Technical Manual Supplement

This document is a technical manual supplement detailing the MS7CC-GA 4-gigabyte memory module for AlphaServer 8200 and 8400 systems. It provides an overview of the module's operations and in-depth information on its subsystem registers and self-test features.

Key characteristics of the MS7CC-GA module include:

• Capacity: 4 Gbytes of DRAM, organized into four 1-Gbyte banks, with a maximum system capacity of 28 Gbytes using seven modules.
• DRAM Technology: Utilizes 1 Gbit SIMMs based on 16-Mbit deep x 4-bit wide DRAM components.
• Data Integrity: Features quadword ECC protection for single-bit error detection and correction, and double-bit error detection. It also adds row/column parity bits for enhanced data integrity.
• Performance: Supports up to 16-way interleaving of memory banks and 64-byte block transfers. A configuration mode allows two banks to operate as one 2 GB bank to work around system bank limits.
• Architecture: Comprises three main sections: Control Address Interface (CTL4), Memory Data Interface (MDI4), and DRAM arrays.
• Registers: Details TLSB required registers (e.g., Device, Bus Error, Configuration, Virtual ID, Failing Address, Error Syndrome) and memory-specific registers (e.g., Serial EEPROM Control/Data, Memory Interleave, Memory Configuration, Self-Test Address Isolation, Self-Test Error, Memory Diagnostic, Self-Test Data Error, Data Diagnostic). These registers are used for configuration, error reporting, and diagnostics.
• Self-Test: Implements a built-in self-test, executed on power-up/reset, to initialize DRAMs, flag bad memory segments, and detect DRAM sensitivity problems using a "moving inversion" algorithm. Self-test can run in Normal, Pause on Error (POEM), and Free Run (FRUN) modes, with specific registers used for error reporting in each mode. The self-test duration depends on DRAM size, speed, array capacity, and clock speed.

The manual is intended for technical professionals, including operating system programmers and customer service engineers.