White Papers

Kingston Technology is proud to offer these technical documents to our customers.

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Memory Provisioning Recommendations Kingston Technology, 2008		VMware HA and DRS Capacity Planning Kingston Technology, 2008
Memory Provisioning Recommendations for VMware Infrastructure 3 Operational Best Practices Foedus, 2007		The Role of Memory in VMware ESX Server 3 VMware, 2006
Server System Memory and Improved Application Performance Veritest, 2005		Kingston's ServerMemory Dynamic Burn-in Testing: Setting a New Standard of Reliability Kingston Technology, 2004
Memory Performance Study Mindcraft 2003

Server Memory Testing

In addition to the full suite of tests Kingston Technology already performs on its server memory, we have developed Dynamic Burn-in Testing, a unique process designed to further screen out potentially defective modules before they are shipped. The process is part of our ongoing commitment to taking quality assurance to a new level of excellence.

Analysis of failures has shown that the overwhelming majority occur during the first three months of operation. This is known as Early Life Failure (ELF). Kingston engineers designed KT2400 Burn-in Testers to simulate the early life period and dramatically reduce server memory failures, thereby reducing potential server downtime.

Kingston KT2400 testers:

• Use Advanced Pattern Testing Controller platforms.
• Use high temperature and high voltage to simulate three months of heavy usage.
• Can test 500 modules simultaneously.
• Feature a proprietary, patent-pending design.

By implementing Dynamic Burn-in Testing, Kingston has reduced failures by 90 percent*. The results have exceeded the engineers expectations and improved the reliability of our server memory, a product line that was already at the top of its class.

Find out more about the additional dynamic burn-in testing process for our Server Memory.

*Based on trial, 3/09/04

Server Diagnostic Tools

Server tools such as Compaq's Insight Manager HP's OPENVIEW IBM's NETFINITY MANAGER are software diagnostic tool that are designed to decrease server downtime by alerting the administrator in advance of system failures. Most PC Servers use ECC memory, which can detect and correct one-bit errors. Server diagnostic tools generally work with system memory by counting the number of memory errors that have been corrected. If there are too many errors within a given time frame, the software issues a "pre-failure warning". The pre-failure warning indicates that the memory might fail. The system administrator can then choose to replace the memory and minimize the risk of system down time later.

If any server system fault management tool, issues a "pre-failure" warning on the memory in your server, Kingston will gladly replace the memory for you, even if it has not actually failed. Kingston memory is guaranteed 100% compatible with the hardware, software, and diagnostic tools of the systems that it is designed for.

Licensing Certifications

SGI
Kingston is an SGI developer and has been licensed by Silicon Graphics (SGI) to manufacture its patented memory for the Origin, Onyx, Onyx 2, Challenge, R3000 Indigo, and Visual workstation systems. Kingston is continually discussing new manufacturing programs and joint projects with SGI and this list of products is expected to grow.

SUN
Kingston has a patent licensing agreement with Sun for products manufactured by Kingston and designated for use in systems based upon Ultra SPARC III and IV platforms (registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc.). Kingston is a proud member of the Sun Cobalt Developers Program. This program is dedicated to software and hardware developers who provide solutions that extend the functionality and value of Sun Cobalt server appliances.

Industry Alliances

Kingston^® believes in the importance and value of relationships. In fact, one of Kingston’s core business values is relationships. Over the years, Kingston has established and fostered integral relationships within the industry. Partnering with companies such as the ones listed below has contributed to Kingston’s success.

AMD Apple Dell IBM

Infineon Intel Microsoft Nanya

Nvidia Samsung SGI Sun

Toshiba-Europe Toshiba (TAEC) Toshiba (TCDMN Co.) ViewSonic

For a PDF version of this page, click here: Alliances PDF (279K)

AMD
AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and communications markets with manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia. AMD, a Fortune 500 and Standard & Poor’s 500 company, produces microprocessors, Flash memory devices, and support circuitry for communications and networking applications.

Along with other leading manufacturers, AMD partners with Kingston to help deliver time-to-market programs to our joint customers, thereby simplifying the solution selection process.

APPLE
Kingston is an Authorized Apple Developer. Kingston designs memory products for Apple^® iMacs, eMacs, iBooks, PowerBooks, Power Mac's and Xserve servers per Apple specifications. Kingston is provided with seed units from Apple to test and qualify prior to release of the systems from Apple and has access to Apple testing and compatibility labs.

DELL
In 2003, Kingston received the Diverse Supplier Award for best overall performance from Dell based on Kingston's relationship supporting Dell's base memory business.

Kingston is also the featured memory hardware supplier on Dell’s online superstore. System users of many computer brands can shop online to purchase Kingston memory upgrades for desktops, notebooks, workstations and servers.

IBM
IBM^® and Kingston entered into an International Technical Support Agreement in the U.S. and Canada effective December 2, 1998, and Australia and New Zealand effective May 1, 2002. In accordance with the terms of the IBM/Kingston Agreement, IBM will provide on-site hardware service on selected Kingston products installed in or attached to IBM systems covered by an IBM on-site warranty or an IBM on-site maintenance agreement. The IBM systems include selected IBM PCs, PC workstations, PC and Netfinity Servers, X-Series and ThinkPads.

Please click here for more information and eligible parts list.

Kingston Technology and IBM Service Agreement

Kingston Technology and IBM Service Agreement for Canada

INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
Kingston has been manufacturing memory modules for Infineon under the Infineon brand name since November 1998, with mass production starting April 1999. In April, 2001, Kingston received Infineon’s Certificate of Recognition 2000 for Subcontractors, formally recognizing Kingston as one of Infineon’s best and most efficient suppliers.

In December 2002, Infineon and Kingston expanded their existing longstanding business relationship to improve each company's ability to supply memory components and modules to computer system manufacturers and after market customers. In addition to the LTA, the companies have signed a MoU with the intention for Kingston to provide contract manufacturing and back-end engineering services to Infineon.

"The expanded relationship with Kingston enhances our ability to build market share, gain increased production flexibility to meet the requirements of key customers, and control our direct investment in back-end manufacturing capability.", said Dr. Harald Eggers, Memory Products Group CEO at Infineon Technologies AG.

"Kingston's strong market presence and expertise in the engineering and production of modules makes the company an excellent partner in the execution of our business strategy."

INTEL
Kingston and Intel^® have developed a pioneering stategic alliance to help enable current and next-generation memory technologies. Spanning from design, R&D, testing, manufacturing, sales and marketing as well as validation services, Kingston has worked closely with Intel as memory needs evolve with emerging chipsets and processors. To support the introduction of new platforms, Intel includes Kingston memory in many of their seed kits which are distributed to key customers worldwide. In order to recognize Kingston's efforts in enabling new products, Intel presented Kingston with an award for the “Outstanding Contributions to the Successful Intel Pentium 4 Processor Ramp”. Kingston memory has passed the tests required for qualification for use with Intel server, workstation and desktop baseboard systems.

"Our relationship with Kingston has always been positive and mutually beneficial. Kingston’s ability to provide large availability of RIMM modules is a testament to Kingston’s continued innovation in manufacturing and supply chain management, that is resulting in dramatic price and cycle time reductions for the industry."

· PAT GELSINGER
Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Intel.

MICROSOFT
Kingston and Microsoft^® have been partnering on worldwide sales and marketing programs since 1996 when they launched the first ever major co-marketing effort by a memory manufacturer and software company. The two companies formed a strategic alliance to promote the complementary relationship between software and memory and have since partnered on several programs designed to educate IT professionals on the positive impact additional memory has on software capabilities and overall system performance.

"Kingston is enabling Windows customers to increase their computing power and performance. The three factors that contribute most to the performance of a PC are the operating system, CPU and memory."

· DEBORAH WILLINGHAM
Vice President, Windows Marketing, Microsoft Corporation.

Kingston and Microsoft have most recently focused on the synergistic relationship of Kingston’s Flash products and Microsoft’s Pocket PC. Kingston Flash products expand the storage capacities of the Pocket PC allowing more room for additional programs and features. Together Kingston and Microsoft continue to further the sales of these two products through new sales promotions and programs and by developing innovative ways of distributing software through digital media.

NANYA
Nanya has selected Kingston to provide worldwide OEM contract manufacturing and logistical services for Nanya’s DDR memory modules. Under the partnership, Nanya utilizes Kingston’s global manufacturing infrastructure to produce the majority of Nanya’s DDR DIMM modules. Kingston supports Nanya and its customers through Kingston’s manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Europe and Far East.

"Kingston is widely recognized as the world's leading provider of manufacturing and logistical services to the global semiconductor manufacturers."

· KEN HURLEY
President of Nanya North America and Europe

NVIDIA
NVIDIA Corporation, located in Santa Clara, CA, is the global leader in advanced graphics and multimedia processing technology for the consumer and professional computing markets. Kingston has also completed validation and compatibility testing on an array of memory modules for NVIDIA's product platforms.

"NVIDIA and Kingston have partnered to launch high performance platforms utilizing the newest and fastest memory technologies. Kingston's reputation for high quality, its advanced memory technology programs, and Kingston's leading global presence aligns perfectly with NVIDIA's goal to deliver an unbeatable computing experience."

· Drew Henry
Senior Director of Platform Business, Nvidia Corportation

SAMSUNG
Samsung^® was the first major DRAM company to support Kingston and has continued to support Kingston on every generation of DRAM since 1987. Over the years, Kingston and Samsung have worked together in very close cooperation on many projects in sub-contract manufacturing and distribution logistics. Kingston has always played an integral role in enabling the early acceptance of every generation of DRAM in the marketplace. Currently, Kingston is also assisting Samsung in its ecommerce endeavors as an order fulfillment center.

"Samsung and Kingston have been partners since Kingston's inception in 1987. Together, we have been through many generations of DRAM. Kingston's dedication to quality product has made them one of our top five customers for the past ten years."

· Y.B. RHA
Executive Vice President and General Manager, Samsung Electronics Corporation, Seoul Korea.

SGI
Kingston is an SGI developer and has been licensed by Silicon Graphics (SGI) to manufacture its patented memory for the Origin, Onyx^®, Onyx 2^®, Challenge^®, R3000 Indigo, and Visual workstation systems. Kingston is continually discussing new manufacturing programs and joint projects with SGI and this list of products is expected to grow.

SUN
Kingston has a patent licensing agreement with Sun^® for products manufactured by Kingston and designated for use in systems based upon Ultra SPARC^® III and IV platforms (registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc.). Kingston is a proud member of the Sun Cobalt Developers Program. This program is dedicated to software and hardware developers who provide solutions that extend the functionality and value of Sun Cobalt server appliances.

TOSHIBA AMERICA ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS INC. (TAEC)
Kingston has manufactured millions of memory modules for Toshiba under the Toshiba brand name for over a decade. The relationship began in 1987 and has evolved into a global partnership.

In Spring of 2000, Kingston extended their global manufacturing and logistical support partnership with Toshiba with the launch of Kingston’s Payton Project. The Payton Project, supported by a new manufacturing facility, provides Toshiba with manufacturing services that extend from the receipt of silicon wafers through packaging, testing, assembly and manufacturing of customer-specified memory modules. This new supply-chain management program shortens the DRAM wafer-to-module cycle time by several weeks.

"Toshiba and Kingston are worldwide partners in the DRAM business. Kingston has been building high-quality memory modules successfully for Toshiba for over ten years."

· BOB BROWN
President and COO, Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.

TOSHIBA - EUROPE
Kingston is a primary supplier of upgrade memory for Toshiba’s European subsidiaries. Under this arrangement, Kingston manufactures memory upgrades to Toshiba specifications under the Toshiba brand.

TOSHIBA–JAPAN (Corporation Digital Media Network Co.)
In the fall of 2000, Kingston and Toshiba signed an agreement whereby Kingston provides worldwide memory support to Toshiba Japan and their subsidiaries. Kingston works in direct conjunction with Toshiba Japan’s engineers to develop original memory modules that meet Toshiba’s stringent quality standard. Under this agreement, memory modules are packaged and labeled under the Toshiba brand.

VIEWSONIC
ViewSonic^® chose Kingston as an approved memory supplier to ViewSonic's Pocket PC, airpanel™ wireless monitors, ViewPad™ SuperPDA and ViewPad™ Tablet PC. Kingston and ViewSonic partnered to bring the best quality products to our customers. Under the agreement, Kingston designed and manufactured memory products to the exact specifications of each individual Viewsonic device. With Kingston as the "approved" memory supplier, users of ViewSonic products are guaranteed compatibility and reliability.

Server Warranty

One of the most common concerns people have when adding third party memory is whether it will void their system warranty.

You can rest assured that adding third party memory to your server does NOT void your warranty. However, it can affect technical support or service for your server. With Kingston memory, you're always protected by KingstonCare, a suite of free services tailored to your server memory support needs.

Focus on your business, not your memory

Most memory issues result from incompatibility. Although the system may appear to function, memory incompatibility can lead to unpredictable system behavior data and poor system performance. Memory installed after receipt of the system should be verified as fully compatible with the system to avoid these problems.

No verification is required with Kingston memory, because it's designed to be 100-percent compatible with your system. Since Kingston server memory is recognized by the server's diagnostic tools, it's easy to determine if your server's problems are related to memory. If they are, call Kingston immediately for assistance. If the issue is related to Kingston server memory, you are covered 100 percent by KingstonCare, our free service program for your Kingston server memory.

KingstonCare features:

• Reimbursement for any service costs associated with Kingston memory
• Cross-ship RMAs for quick product replacement
• On-site spares for instant replacement
• And much more.

For details on KingstonCare, click here

For your reference, here's what HP and IBM say on their web sites about adding third-party memory:

HP web site:

Q: Does adding third-party memory or disk drives void the warranty?
A: Adding third-party memory or disk drives does not void the warranty. However, there are some implications to using third-party memory when you need technical support. For example, when the memory used may relate to the problem you are experiencing, you will be asked to remove the third-party memory to confirm the problem still exists before a service provider is dispatched. HP does not cover on-site visits caused by third-party products, whether internal or external to the HP Netserver system processor unit.

IBM web site:

Q: Will adding third-party memory or disk drives void the IBM warranty?
A: Adding third-party items does not void the IBM Machine warranty unless the third-party item causes an IBM Machine to fail. If there is a warranty or service implication, you may be asked to remove the third-party item, or have the IBM Machine inspected and qualified before IBM will proceed with warranty service.

Serivce

RMA: Kingston’s easy RMA process gets customers a replacement module quickly. A cross-ship process is available for customers who need their replacement module even faster — the replacement module is sent immediately, while the return is sent to Kingston.

Technical Support: Kingston’s technical support team provides live guidance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – worldwide. We are there when you need us, for pre- and post-sale support. For more information, please visit our support pages here

Agreements with major OEMs: Kingston works with the leaders in the industry to provide our mutual customers with the levels of service and technical support that they expect.

Dell: If a customer has installed Kingston System-Specific memory into a Dell system, and they have a service agreement with Dell, Dell will support the Kingston System-Specific memory installed on the system when the customer calls Dell for service.

IBM: IBM^® and Kingston entered into an International Technical Support Agreement in the U.S. and Canada effective December 2, 1998. In accordance with the terms of the IBM/Kingston Agreement, IBM will provide on-site hardware service on selected Kingston products installed in or attached to IBM systems covered by an IBM on-site warranty or an IBM on-site maintenance agreement. The IBM systems include selected IBM PCs, PC workstations, PC and Netfinity Servers, X-Series and ThinkPads.

KingstonCare Service Program: KingstonCare is an extension of Kingston’s dedication to quality and customer service. With benefits for both the reseller and end user, KingstonCare is a free, comprehensive suite of tools and services designed to reduce any potential server downtime. The KingstonCare program offers Service Reimbursement and Onsite Spares in additional to traditional service and support.