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New IBM Chip Doubles Computer Memory
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Laws tend to be broken from time to time, but Moore's Law is really taking a beating.
It refers, you'll recall, to the ability of engineers to make continual refinements in the manufacturing and design of computer chips, so that speed and capacity doubles every eighteen months or so.
Now IBM researchers have effectively doubled the memory capacity of computers - in one fell swoop. They have designed a new chip that manages the way data is stored in a computer's "fast" or random-access memory, doubling the amount of data it can hold without sacrificing speed. This improvement comes on top of whatever advances new chip-making processes may bring.
The Memory eXpansion (MXT) chip will be used first in Intel-based servers such as IBM's Netfinity line, but eventually will find its way to personal computers and pervasive e-business devices.
Used in conjunction with conventional memory chips, the MXT chip makes sure that frequently used data and instructions are stored close to a computer's microprocessor, so they can be accessed quickly. Less frequently used data and instructions are then compressed, so they take up less space, and stored in the remaining memory.
The chip incorporates new compression algorithms which provide a parallel speedup over previous techniques. Contents of memory are stored and accessed using new data structures which waste little space and require no periodic reorganization.
Since memory typically accounts for 40 to 70 percent of the cost of a computer system, IBM's MXT technology will be able to save Internet service providers and others who use high-performance machines thousands or even millions of dollars. Customers can cut costs by purchasing half the memory to achieve the same performance, or they can increase performance by installing the same amount of memory to achieve twice the capacity.
"Adding memory is often the most effective way to improve system performance, but it's a costly proposition," said Mark Dean, IBM Fellow and Vice President of Systems Research. "IBM Memory eXpansion Technology is a game-changing development that improves system performance without adding costly physical memory."
A typical Windows 2000 or NT-server based rack-mounted computer system configuration can achieve its maximum memory capacity of 168 gigabytes with only 84 gigabytes installed. With the retail cost of server memory at several thousand dollars per gigabyte, a customer could double their memory capacity and cut their cost per gigabyte by half, saving about $250,000 per rack of servers. For a customer with a large IT installation -- such as an ISP with multiple racks of servers -- MXT could result in total savings of more than a million dollars.
IBM is exploring ways to incorporate MXT in its line of data-transaction and web-application servers, in addition to storage subsystems and other appliance servers. In the future, the technology could be adapted for desktop and laptop PCs, workstations and pervasive e-business devices, such as handheld computers, mobile phones and anywhere additional memory is needed to allow more information to be stored on smaller and smaller devices.
In a five-year technology sharing agreement with IBM, ServerWorks Corp. of Santa Clara, California, plans to incorporate MXT technology into its next-generation high-end core logic solutions. ServerWorks, a supplier of high-performance core logic for Intel-based servers, anticipates that it will first offer MXT in a product known by the code name "Pinnacle." The company has the right to sell products incorporating MXT technology to all its customers.
"Memory eXpansion Technology reduces hardware cost and boosts performance," noted Raju Vegesna, ServerWorks' president and CEO. "Designers of 1U and 2U rack-dense servers never have enough real estate for large memory configurations, so doubling the effectiveness of each byte of physical memory offers real advantages. Our ability to integrate IBM's advanced technology into industry-standard platforms makes Intel-based servers work better, and benefits everyone who uses, buys or sells systems like these."
MXT technology is only the latest instance of IBM breaking Moore's Law. IBM recently announced new technology that increases the capacity of hard disk drives, as well as silicon-on-insulator and copper technology to increase the performance of semiconductors.
