Multi-Level Main Memory Systems: Technology Choices, Design Considerations, and Trade-off Analysis

Abstract

Multi-level main memory systems provide a way to leverage the advantages of different memory technologies to build a main memory that overcomes the limitations of the current flat DRAM-based architecture. The slowdown of DRAM scaling has resulted in the development of new memory technologies that potentially enable the continued improvement of the main memory system in terms of performance, capacity, and energy efficiency. However, all of these novel technologies have weaknesses that necessitate the utilization of a multi-level main memory hierarchy in order to build a main memory system with acceptable characteristics. This dissertation investigates the implications of these new multi-level main memory architectures and provides key insights into the trade-offs associated with the technology and organization choices that are integral to their design.

The design space of multi-level main memory systems is much larger than the traditional main memory system's because it also includes additional cache design and technology choices. This dissertation divides the analysis of that space into three more manageable components. First, we begin by exploring the ways in which high level design choices affect this new type of system differently than current state of the art systems. Second, we focus on the details of the DRAM cache and propose a novel design that efficiently enables associativity. Finally, we turn our attention to the backing store and evaluate the performance effects of different organizations and optimizations for that system.

From these studies we are able to identify the critical aspects of the system that contribute significantly to its overall performance. In particular, we note that in most potential systems the ratio of hit latency to miss latency is the dominant factor that determines performance. This motivated the development of our novel associative DRAM cache design in order to minimize the miss rate and reduce the impact of the miss latency while maintaining an acceptable hit latency. In addition, we also observe that selecting the page size, organization, and prefetching degree that best suits each particular backing store technology can help to reduce the miss penalty thereby improving the performance of the overall system.