4 ms·
ECC is done on 8-byte words. The basic form of RAM ECC is called "SECDED" ECC, and is an 8-bit hamming code that can correct one error silently and detect any t
by pclmulqdq 2y ago
ECC is done on 8-byte words. The basic form of RAM ECC is called "SECDED" ECC, and is an 8-bit hamming code that can correct one error silently and detect any two. It's not just a parity bit.
The number of ECC bits needed for any error correction level on n bits are proportional to log(n).
DDR actually operates in bursts of 4 or 8 64-bit words (+8 ECC), so you can make a better ECC using all 32 or 64 bits to cover the full burst rather than covering each 8 bytes separately.
- ajross 2y agoIn point of fact most L2+ caches are already ECC'd on whole cache lines, as I understand it. At the level of on-SOC integration this makes a little more sense [1] as it effectively "improves yield" by recovering marginal cache regions that wouldn't otherwise pass tests. [1] vs. the semi-religious flame war about DRAM ECC in which I won't engage. People get nuts over this, and IMHO the actual data is awfully inconclusive.
- pclmulqdq 2y agoYes, most modern CPUs seem to do RAM ECC at the level of cache lines, too. That lets them do things like erasure coding to cover you if an entire RAM chip goes bad. SECDED ECC is the academic example.