Reliable and powerful operating systems for next-generation computers

While conventional main memories in computers without power supply immediately lose their stored data, new technologies are designed for so-called non-volatile memories. Non-volatile memories (storage class memory, SCM) have an extremely high storage density comparable to hard disks. "SCM would therefore be a direct candidate as a replacement for volatile main memory and as fast intermediate storage for file systems, if it were not significantly slower than conventional DRAM," says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Nolte, head of the Chair of Distributed systems / operating systems. "Therefore, it is not yet possible to completely dispense with conventional memory at present."

The goal of the scientists* in the new DFG project "Power Failure Aware Byteadressable Virtual Non-Volatile Memory (PAVE)" is to integrate nonvolatile memory into the complex virtual memory subsystem of the FreeBSD operating system. Volatile memory could thus be used to increase speed at the same time that data is stored in the event of a power failure. "Existing applications can then benefit immediately from the huge storage capacities of the new technology without any changes to the software or significant loss of efficiency," Nolte said.

The project "Power Failure Aware Byte-Adressable Virtual Non-Volatile Memory (PAVE)" is being carried out as part of Priority Program 2377: "Disruptive Main Memory Technologies" of the German Research Foundation (DFG) in cooperation with Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg.