Dataram Offers Try and Buy Deal for Server Memory

Published: January 26, 2009

by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Clone memory maker Dataram was for many years a little gun shy about saying that it offered clone memory that was supported on AS/400 and iSeries boxes, but the convergence of the i and p lines by IBM presents the company with some opportunities to make money and to help i and p shops save money.

Last week, Dataram, which is located in Princeton, New Jersey, and which has been making clone memory since 1967, said that it was initiating a free "try and buy" program to help customers get clone memory, which can cost half as much as memory modules supplied by server makers themselves. Because warranties and hardware support contracts are tied to servers and not individual components, many IT shops have been hesitant to use components that do not come from their server vendors. If something goes wrong in a system, the finger-pointing begins and a system is still not working right. This is not a technical reason to not use clone memory, which is perfectly fine, but it is a technical support reason to think about it. That's why Dataram is willing to give customers a chance to evaluate its clone memory inside their servers for up to 60 days without having to pay for it.

As it turns out, Dataram has been offering clone memory modules for System i Power5 and Power5+ machines. To be specific, we're talking about the i5 515, 520, 525, and 550 boxes. The company also sells memory modules for System p machines of the same vintage, including System p 505, 510, 520, 550, 560, 570, and 575 machines. Which should mean that the i5 570 boxes can also get clone memory from Dataram as well. Interestingly, the new Power Systems, which run both i and AIX operating systems, also have clone memory modules from Dataram, but only Power 520 and Power 550 machines. Larger Power 570 and 595 machines, where IBM really charges a lot for memory modules, have not been cloned by Dataram, either.

Ditto for GST, which is based in Lake Forest, California, and sold clone memory modules for entry and midrange iSeries and System i boxes as well as for pSeries and System p boxes, but did not offer memory for high-end i and p boxes. GST does not yet have memory modules for sale for Power6-based Power Systems machines.

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