SanDisk and HP Start Collaborating on Memory-Driven Computing Technology

    On October 8, 2015, SanDisk Corporation and HP announced the beginning of a long-term partnership aimed at developing new technology in the SCM (Storage Class Memory) category. The core of cooperation will be Hewlett-Packard's developments in the field of creating a memory device based on the memristor concept, and SanDisk's experience with non-volatile memory ReRam. The efforts of the companies in this project are aimed at creating new corporate solutions built on Memory-Driving Computing technology. This is a computer architecture in which memory plays a key role in computing. In addition, collaboration will extend to equipping HP Data Center solutions with Solid State Drives (SSDs) from SanDisk.





    Word to officials


    Martin Fink, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for HP, says the data flow that has hit the organization is constantly growing. This is a test for everyone. He notes that SanDisk shares HP's understanding of how important it is to cope with this test. He is particularly pleased that both companies see a solution to the problem in moving to Memory-Driven Computing technology. According to him, HP and SanDisk plan to bring to the market a new technology for data storage and facilitate its implementation in corporate systems. In addition, the results of joint work are planned to be used in the development of the revolutionary project The Machine.

    Already today, according to Siva Sivaram, executive vice president of memory technology at SanDisk, the partnership will deepen the relationship between companies in using state-of-the-art SanDisk storage solutions in HP's advanced enterprise products. He notes that the results of work on a completely new type of memory can lead to a revolution in the world of computers.

    Permanent RAM


    One of the main bottlenecks of modern computing systems is the transfer of information between fast and expensive RAM and relatively slow, but affordable drives for permanent data storage. One application of the SCM technology that HP and SanDisk are working on is aimed at solving this problem.

    The use of new solutions will allow the creation of data storage modules that are superior to the existing DRAM-memory in everything. They will be cheaper, more economical and more compact. Do not forget that we are talking about non-volatile memory, that is - you can add to this list the ability to permanently store data.

    If we compare the new technology with existing data storage devices based on NAND-memory, then it is expected that it will be, firstly, about 1000 times faster, and secondly, it will be able to withstand the same heavy load created by write-erase cycles . A new type of memory will remove the boundary between the concepts of "random access memory" and "read-only memory".

    Application in traditional computing systems


    Where will such a memory find application, not only combining the best qualities of modern RAM and ROM, but also supplementing them with new qualities?

    In answering this question, one must take into account that the volumes of data that have to be stored, transferred and processed are constantly growing. Their sources are the flows of information from social networks, the processing of "big data", cloud computing, mobile devices, the Internet, service data that is invisible to users, but necessary to ensure the safe and uninterrupted operation of network infrastructure.

    Therefore, during the joint work of HP and SanDisk, a new type of memory is planned to be integrated into existing enterprise solutions for storing data on solid state drives. The introduction of the new technology will begin with server nodes, each of which will be equipped with dozens of terabytes of SCM memory.

    Such systems will be designed to work with databases stored in memory, to analyze large amounts of information in real time, to perform transactional and high-performance computing.

    After the successful use of the new technology in the corporate environment, in data centers, it will find application in computing systems designed for end users, that is, in personal computers and mobile devices.

    The above options for applying the new SCM solution are limited to existing computing device architectures, the development of what is today. Traditional memory - fast or slow, non-volatile or in need of constant recharge - is a passive element of modern computers. What if you look at the memory in a new way? A new look at memory is the path to computing in which it is directly involved, the path to a new computer architecture that is already embodied in the prototype of The Machine.

    Memristors and new computer architecture


    The existence of the fourth basic component of electrical circuits was predicted in 1971 by Leon Chua. He added a memristor to the resistor, capacitor, and inductor. This passive element is able to remember their own state. It can be described as a resistor, the resistance of which varies depending on the charge flowing through it. When the element is de-energized, the changed resistance is maintained.

    Currently, the development of a commercial implementation of the memristor is underway. This will open up the possibility of creating new types of memory that, in addition to storing information, will be able to participate in its processing: theoretically, memristors are able to replace transistors. This is a completely new computer architecture that will change the traditional understanding of how computing systems are built and how software is written for them.

    Is it worth it to postpone work on the new architecture before the “fourth element” is ready for mass production? HP Labs says no.

    Building infrastructure that can take advantage of memristors will take years. Therefore, the development of prototypes of future devices is necessary now. And in this area, HP has already obtained very specific results. Created The Machine - the first implementation of tomorrow's computing architecture. The Machine currently runs on existing hardware, but not far off the day the new electronic components begin to be fully utilized.

    The Machine memory is based on memristors. To transfer data between system components, optical communication channels will be used, work on which is already underway.

    The new computer architecture is new approaches to creating hardware components, to their relationship with each other, and to software development.



    In The Machine, there is no boundary between RAM and a persistent data warehouse. All memory is operational. This simplifies the system architecture and removes the problems associated with the transfer of data between repositories operating at different speeds. In addition, and this is one of the main revolutionary features of the new architecture, computing is getting closer to data than before. Memory takes part in information processing.

    Conclusion


    The way to develop new computer technologies, and especially revolutionary ones, is not easy. The exact date for achieving the goal cannot be given. But the path itself has the same value as its endpoint. The aim of the path that HP and SanDisk have embarked on is to release mass-based products based on memristors and to create a revolutionary computer architecture capable of adequately responding to the information challenges of the future. And along the way, new, faster, more affordable, and more reliable memory modules than today will appear. It is very likely that in the foreseeable future, even within the framework of traditional computing architecture, all computer memory will become operational. New approaches to software development will appear,

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