So at COMPUTEX 2025, while most booths were all about flashy RGB lighting and the latest chips, SMART Modular Technologies took a very different route. Instead of chasing spectacle, they focused on something absolutely critical but often overlooked in high-performance computing: memory.
And not just your typical RAM sticks either — we’re talking about advanced CXL-based memory expansion cards and persistent memory modules aimed squarely at enterprise workloads.
Now, if you’re wondering what CXL is and why everyone’s starting to talk about it, here’s the gist: CXL, or Compute Express Link, is a new type of high-speed interconnect built on PCIe. It basically allows CPUs to directly access external memory with super-low latency. That means you can now expand or pool memory way more flexibly, without having to upgrade CPUs or redesign servers from scratch.
SMART Modular is leaning hard into this with two product lines: AICs (Add-in Cards) and CMM E3.S modules.
Let’s start with the AICs. These are plug-and-play CXL cards that fit into standard PCIe slots — no need to rebuild your server. Depending on the config, you can load one of these up with up to 1TB of memory. That’s massive. They come in 4-DIMM and 8-DIMM variants, and thanks to the CXL protocol, they keep latency pretty tight, around 310 nanoseconds, which is way faster than SSDs that can spike from 100 microseconds to over a millisecond.
And here’s what’s cool: you only add what you need. So if your workload grows, you scale accordingly — it’s perfect for always shifting environments, like the cloud or AI-heavy setups. Plus, they say you can save up to 40% on memory costs by using more affordable DIMMs with these cards instead of buying top-tier CPUs just for memory support.
Then there’s the persistent memory side with the CMM E3.S modules — specifically the NV-CMM, which is a non-volatile memory module using CXL. It’s kind of like a hybrid between DRAM and flash storage, backed by power-loss protection. Ideal for things like system recovery, caching, and checkpointing, where data durability is critical.
These modules are compact, built in the new E3.S form factor, so they slot right into dense server racks without fuss. And they’re tailor-made for AI and high-performance databases — anywhere you need fast, reliable memory that sticks around even after the power cuts out.
Bottom line – Smart Modular ain’t your run-of-the-mill consumer brand, as they meant serious business for the B2B segment to benefit more data centers with extra capacity, better bandwidth, and lower the total cost of ownership — all without needing to rip and replace entire server stacks.
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