Studying Operating System Aspects For Memory Subsystems Based on PCM

• Grant number: 13/05257-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: August 01, 2013
• End date: August 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Computer Science - Computer Systems
• Principal Investigator: Rodolfo Jardim de Azevedo
• Grantee: Luiz Eduardo da Silva Ramos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Computação (IC). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In light of the scalability and density issues foreseen for DRAM and Flash memories in the next decade, the Phase-Change Memory (PCM) technology has shown to be a promising replacement for both technologies. Besides having better projected scalability and density than DRAM and Flash, PCM's performance is comparable to that of DRAM (orders of magnitude better than that of Flash), PCI is byte-addressable (like DRAM), persistent (non-volatile, like Flash) and eliminates the overheads of refreshing and precharging in main memory.Today's operating systems were designed for computer systems with specific characte- ristics and assumptions that would change if PCM were to be adopted for primary and/or secondary memory.In this project, we seek new solutions that will enable the use of PCM in primary memory by improving resource management at the operating system, by providing new data models and new paradigms for software and hardware design with the non-volatility of memory in mind. By reaching these goals we will have a better understanding of the potential of PCM and new solutions available for when that technology is ready for wide adoption.