Memory and Storage System Design with Nonvolatile Memory Technologies

Abstract

The memory and storage system, including processor caches, main memory, and storage, is an important component of various computer systems. The memory hierarchy is becoming a fundamental performance and energy bottleneck, due to the widening gap between the increasing bandwidth and energy demands of modern applications and the limited performance and energy efficiency provided by traditional memory technologies. As a result, computer architects are facing significant challenges in developing high-performance, energy-efficient, and reliable memory hierarchies. New byte-addressable nonvolatile memories (NVMs) are emerging with unique properties that are likely to open doors to novel memory hierarchy designs to tackle the challenges. However, substantial advancements in redesigning the existing memory and storage organizations are needed to realize their full potential. This article reviews recent innovations in rearchitecting the memory and storage system with NVMs, producing high-performance, energy-efficient, and scalable computer designs.