Keynotes
Memory System Performance and the Innovator's Delimma
Jack Davidson, University of Virginia
Memory system performance continues to be a major
performance issue for overall computer system performance. While
current research continues to chip away at the towering memory wall,
the gap between processor speed and effective memory speed continues
to grow. In this talk, we describe Clayton Christensen's concept of
the innovator's dilemma and how his principles apply to computer
architecture research and memory systems performance research in
particular. The talk briefly surveys some ongoing research thrusts in
memory systems performance and the results. The basic conclusion is
that innovation is not sufficient, but rather we need "disruptive
technologies" to significantly address memory system performance
issues. Based on this conclusion, we propose some memory systems
research problems that we believe must be addressed in the short term
to increase our understanding of the complex interactions of software
and hardware. The talk concludes by proposing a few other longer
range research directions that should be pursued to foster development
of disruptive technologies for memory systems.