Overcoming the Memory Wall with CXL-Enabled SSDs

Explore the potential of using inexpensive flash memory with Compute Express Link (CXL) technology to overcome memory limitations in this conference talk from USENIX ATC '23. Delve into the design space of CXL-enabled flash devices and discover how caching and prefetching techniques can address performance and longevity concerns. Examine real-world application traces demonstrating the device's estimated 3.1-year lifespan and ability to handle 68–91% of memory requests in under a microsecond. Analyze existing technique limitations and consider system-level modifications for achieving DRAM-level performance using flash memory.