Smart-1 205 Memory upgrade question

[Scottc98]

I have a question regarding what type of memory is used for the Smart-1 205s.   I have one running today in my home lab and fully understand its not supported anymore (nor expect it to be).    I'm using it to manage one lab GW but have been running high on memory consistently (90-95%). 

It currently has 8GB today but I've read it can go up to 16GB.      

https://dl3.checkpoint.com/paid/58/582dba9252f159cb396e979f546c4693/CP_Smart-1_ReplacingRAM.pdf?Hash...

To upgrade to Use
DIMMs
Procedure Slots
Smart-1 205
16GB
2x8GB Remove the two 2GB DIMMs and install
two 8GB DIMMs in the same slots
1 and 3

Since I know this is EOL, its not something I can directly purchase (nor probably want to drop that type of $) but curious if someone can tell me the memory types I can maybe find from some reseller or on Ebay here.    

Are there some other appliances or GWs (4000/5000 series?) that used the same type of memory i can search for?

(Note:  The appliance has been working for me pretty well so wanted to stretch its use before I get some compute to migrate it to a VM)

Thanks in advance.

[stallwoodj]

Hi Scott,

Running dmidecode in expert mode will show information about the RAM chips including their size, bus speed and manufacturer (including a part number).

But of course do note that unless you are using a GAiA that is Kernel 3.10, then only 4GB RAM is accessible to the operating system. 

Thanks

Jamie

[Bob_Zimmerman]

---

@stallwoodj wrote:

But of course do note that unless you are using a GAiA that is Kernel 3.10, then only 4GB RAM is accessible to the operating system. 

---

This is not accurate. Even kernel 2.4 could use PAE to recognize more than 4 GB at the OS level, though any single process couldn't use more than 2 GB. Kernel 2.6.18-92 can use up to 256 GB.

As for the broader question, a physical inspection of the DIMM slots is the only way to be sure. dmidecode basically prints the contents of a file. On a 2200 (which I currently use for my personal box), it reports a memory array (type 16) max capacity of 2 GB and the SO-DIMMs (type 17) report they're 800 MHz DDR2:

[Expert@DallasSA]# clish -c "show asset all" | grep Model
Model: Check Point 2200
CPU Model: Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU D525   
Disk Model: INTEL SSDSC2BA400G3

[Expert@DallasSA]# dmidecode -t 16
# dmidecode 3.0
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 2.6 present.

Handle 0x000D, DMI type 16, 15 bytes
Physical Memory Array
	Location: System Board Or Motherboard
	Use: System Memory
	Error Correction Type: None
	Maximum Capacity: 2 GB
	Error Information Handle: Not Provided
	Number Of Devices: 2

[Expert@DallasSA]# dmidecode -t 17
# dmidecode 3.0
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 2.6 present.

Handle 0x000F, DMI type 17, 28 bytes
Memory Device
	Array Handle: 0x000D
	Error Information Handle: Not Provided
	Total Width: 64 bits
	Data Width: 64 bits
	Size: 4096 MB
	Form Factor: SODIMM
	Set: None
	Locator: DIMM0
	Bank Locator: BANK0
	Type: DDR2
	Type Detail: Synchronous
	Speed: 800 MHz
	Manufacturer: Manufacturer00
	Serial Number: SerNum00
	Asset Tag: AssetTagNum0
	Part Number: ModulePartNumber00
	Rank: Unknown

Handle 0x0011, DMI type 17, 28 bytes
Memory Device
	Array Handle: 0x000D
	Error Information Handle: Not Provided
	Total Width: 64 bits
	Data Width: 64 bits
	Size: 4096 MB
	Form Factor: SODIMM
	Set: None
	Locator: DIMM1
	Bank Locator: BANK1
	Type: DDR2
	Type Detail: Synchronous
	Speed: 800 MHz
	Manufacturer: Manufacturer01
	Serial Number: SerNum01
	Asset Tag: AssetTagNum1
	Part Number: ModulePartNumber01
	Rank: Unknown

The memory physically in the box is definitely DDR3, and I have 8 GB installed.

[Timothy_Hall · Accepted solution]

Processor for a Smart-1 205 is an Intel Celeron G1620 2.7GHz 2-core.  ark.intel.com says it can support a max of up to 32GB of RAM which is DDR3 1333.  May be able to only go to 16GB if there are less memory slots.

[Scottc98]

Thanks everyone for the input.   The device has 4 DIMM slots from the output i saw on the CLI output.   I have got some 2x8GB DDR3 memory coming in a few days and I'll start with that to get to 16GB; knowing i 'may' be able to get up to 32GB later.   

[Scottc98]

Memory replaced today.   At 16GB now and running much smoother now 😉     Can confirm that there are 4 DIMM slots here so it sounds like I can go up to 32GB if needed.   AT this time, i'm in slots 1 and 3 per the memory upgrade guide.

Thanks again for everyone's help!

[the_rock]

Good job!

[Chris_Atkinson]

Sometimes a visual inspection of the existing DIMMs is also useful 🙂

[the_rock]

What Tim said is 100% true and I know this because had a client use same type of ram to upgrade smart-1 205 few years ago.