Change pmem to use AppDirect mode

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Change pmem to use AppDirect mode

Problem Description

You have pmem set to Memory Mode but get the following failure message when trying to set it back to AppDirect Mode:

ipmctl create -goal PersistentMemoryType=AppDirect

Create region configuration goal failed: Error (36) - Please set device security state to 'disabled' and try again.

Explanation

When a system is already configured in “Memory Mode” it cannot simply be re-configured to “AppDirect Mode” because it will erase all the existing data. There are specific steps to achieve this, though.

Solution

The allocation goal for NVDIMM can be changed using either ipmctl or via BIOS.

Configuring in BIOS should be easier:

  1. Change the allocation goal in the BIOS to the AppDirect (consult your hardware provider for the exact steps).
  2. Reboot your machine.
  3. Finish the pmem setup using the other command line tool ndctl.

Refer to the ipmctl-create-goal man page for details on an alternative way to achieve this.

Notes

Keywords

PMEM NVDIMM IPMCTL NDCTL BIOS

Timestamp

August 2019

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