Wide Key Hash Table for GPU Memory Constraints

The key is divided into multiple segments, where each segment fits within the word size of the GPU memory. The first segment is used to index into the hash table to retrieve a pointer, and subsequent segments are used to index into the pointed-to data structure to retrieve the final value. This segmentation allows keys of any size to be accommodated while maintaining efficient memory access through fixed-size word operations.

The solution employs a nested structure where the hash table stores pointers to other data structures rather than storing complete key-value pairs directly. The first level hash table maps key segments to intermediate structures, which then map subsequent key segments to final values. This nested arrangement allows the system to handle arbitrarily large keys without requiring proportional increases in memory capacity, as only the fixed-size hash table entries and minimal intermediate structures reside in GPU memory.

The patent introduces an intermediary data structure that resides in system memory rather than GPU memory. The hash table in GPU memory contains only pointers to this intermediary structure. When processing large datasets, the intermediary structure can hold data that exceeds GPU memory capacity, while the hash table provides fast lookup capability. This intermediary layer acts as a buffer between the limited GPU memory and the larger system memory, enabling processing of larger data volumes without sacrificing the parallel processing speed advantage of the GPU.