A massive memory supercomputer

An approach to supercomputing that is based on using a massive main memory (in the order of gigabytes) is investigated. Many of the problems currently solved on conventional supercomputers can equally be solved in similar time on such a machine, with a modest processor speed. The advantages of this approach in supporting database applications, VLSI applications and many other applications working on large volumes of date are examined. It is shown how the architecture of the MONADS-PC system, a capability-based computer developed by the authors, can be adapted to support such a large memory. The architectural design of a machine based on MONADS-PC is given, with special emphasis on the addressing and address translation issue.<>