SPP/ DFG Priority Program 2377
Coordinator: Prof. Dr-Ing. Olaf Spinczyk, Universität Osnabrück
The aim of this priority program is to explore the potentials of ongoing developments in the field of main memory technologies and architectures. Despite the disruptive nature of these technologies, systems software and applications shall be enabled to fully exploit them. In order to master disruptive memory technologies and their impact on the overall memory hierarchy, research efforts are required on all levels of the classic system software stack, for example:
Computer Architecture (Technical Computer Science): Innovative architectures, for example sensor nodes with fully-persistent state; Improving/adapting existing architectures, for example, issues of volatile and non-volatile memory co-existence; Instruction set extensions and memory management units
Operating Systems: Software abstractions for new types of memory; Integration into the memory hierarchy; Fine-grained isolation and sharing sharing of persistent objects; Synchronization mechanisms and memory transactions; Systems that never reboot; Removal of “persistent” faults or bugs
Algorithms / Data Structures: Dealing with heterogeneity (high/low bandwidth, different read/write performance); Lightweight transactions on data structures
Databases: Optimized usage of different memory types, for example, index structures in persistent memory or optimized query execution
Languages / Compilers/ Software Engineering: Support for In/Near-Memory Computing; Evolution of persistent state; Extended type systems for novel classes of memory; Conversion of legacy software; Potential bugs related to the new technology
The projects and, thus, addressed research questions are expected to be evolutionary (improving existing systems in a compatible manner), disruptive (making use of novel memory technology for new and potentially incompatible features), or visionary (rethinking systems completely). Cross-project collaboration during the runtime of the program will be encouraged for mutual benefit.
The TU Dresden Database Research Group is involved in the project:
Virtualized Non-Functional Memory Properties for Data-Pipeline Scheduling (VAMPIR)