SHF: Medium:Collaborative Research: Architectural and System Support for Building Versatile Memory Systems

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Computer memory design is moving into a new era with emerging NVM (non-volatile memory) technologies for increasingly data-intensive applications. This project will investigate a novel memory architecture called versatile memory system that hosts heterogeneous memory technologies to provide a powerful in-memory computing engine, addressing the increasing demands for memory performance, energy efficiency, and reliability from data-intensive applications. It is based on a holistic approach, from low-layer hardware design to high-layer OS management, to address the challenges of complexity and efficiency arising from the integration of heterogeneous NVM technologies. It allows the memory system to be self-adaptive to meet varying application demands on performance, energy efficiency, and reliability. The project will study the framework, critical hardware support, and feasible and meaningful functionalities of the versatile memory system, aiming at improving the performance, energy efficiency, reliability, and manageability of computing systems from mobile to server platforms. It is expected that the outcome of the project will have broader impact on the design of modern computer memory systems both in academia and industry.