Storage Class Memory

摘要

Advances in processor technology have created myriads of related problems for system designers, chief amongst which is the need to improve on the latency between storage, memory and the processor itself. Significant data transfer rates between the processor, L1 cache, L2 cache and main memory are possible but it is at this point that the scenario changes and it is this problem which must be addressed in the years to come if the gains made in processor technology are to be further translated into overall system performance improvements. Storage Class Memory (SCM) offers just the bridge needed to get over the ever widening gap between CPU processing speeds, the need to move large blocks of data quickly and the read/write speeds offered by traditional disk reliant systems. In terms of their predicted cost, speed, retentive abilities(data persistence) and power requirements, the technologies that can be classed as SCM are the most likely candidates to keep Moore’s Law true well into the next decade and beyond. This paper provides an overview of SCM and its role in the ‘greening’ of data centres around the world. The makeup of data centres with their vast banks of HDD’s all-consuming power whether idle or in use is not a sustainable model as the world faces into a future of increasing energy costs and decreasing supply of traditional fuel sources.