Network-Managed Memory Pools for Low-Latency Host Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Host memory insufficiency leads to performance degradation due to high latency when applications access storage, necessitating a solution to expand memory and reduce management complexity.
Innovation Solution
A network device manages a memory pool and provides memory access addresses to hosts when conditions are met, allowing hosts to access memory units directly, thereby expanding memory and reducing management complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the host uses local memory configured in advance, then the memory access speed is fast (100 nanoseconds), but the memory capacity is limited and cannot be expanded dynamically
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a network device as an intermediary that manages a shared memory pool and facilitates memory access between hosts. The network device receives memory access requests from hosts, allocates memory from the shared pool, and returns memory access addresses, enabling hosts to access external memory resources without directly accessing storage, thus resolving the contradiction between memory capacity expansion and access latency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from local memory architecture to remote memory architecture by introducing network-based memory access. Instead of being constrained to local memory resources, hosts can access memory in the shared pool through the network device, effectively expanding the memory dimension from local to remote while maintaining acceptable access performance through optimized memory management
2Quantity of substance
If the host accesses storage to obtain memory space, then the memory capacity can be expanded, but the access latency increases significantly to millisecond level
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses volatile memory in the shared pool that can be quickly allocated and released. The network device manages memory allocation dynamically, providing fast memory space to hosts when needed and releasing it when not needed, enabling memory capacity expansion without the millisecond-level latency of storage access while maintaining the ability to flexibly manage memory resources
3Adaptability or versatility
If each host manages its own memory independently, then the memory management is simple and direct, but the memory resource utilization is low and memory cannot be shared between hosts
Solution Approach 1:
The network device is designed to perform multiple functions: it acts as both a network switch for service forwarding and a memory manager for the shared pool. This multi-functionality enables memory sharing between multiple hosts while consolidating management responsibilities in a single device, improving memory resource utilization without significantly increasing overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The network device serves as an intermediary that abstracts the complexity of memory management from individual hosts. It handles memory allocation, address isolation, and access control centrally, allowing hosts to access shared memory resources简单地 through memory access addresses without each host needing to implement complex memory management logic, thus enabling memory sharing while keeping host-side complexity low
Data Source
AI summary
In accordance with an embodiment, a communication method includes: receiving, by a first host, a memory access address sent by a network device, wherein the memory access address points to a memory unit in a first memory pool, the network device is connected to the first host, the network device is configured to switch and forward a service of the first host, and the network device is further configured to manage the first memory pool; and in response to memory of the first host satisfying a preset condition, accessing, by the first host, the memory unit based on the memory access address.