So why *aren't* there small bits of compute baked into RAM yet? Referring to highly local operations with fixed dimensionality, or reducing queries (return or update memory region where following constraint is true). We have TB+ EC2 nodes, after all. Why move the data?
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Replying to @dakami @mcclure111
one reason is the wafers that are good for storage (high gate capacitance) suck for computation, and vice versa
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Replying to @whitequark @mcclure111
Suck for computation at any serial scale. They can clearly compute a little, they do at line speed for ECC. How much more can they do?
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ECC? That's done by the memory controller, not the memory.
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Always? (This is a part of the architecture I don't know as well as I would like.)
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always. it doesn't make sense otherwise, the memory controller also must do scrambling and such
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How programmable ARE memory controllers?
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Replying to @dakami @whitequark and
The ones that are "programmable" give you control over signal timing, and the fanciest ones let you load a state machine to have more control over details of sending commands to the memory chips, but they aren't able to do any computation to speak of.
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The ECC calculation is generally hardwired, or there is a choice between a small number of hardwired ECC functions, e.g., one "chipkill" and one "normal" function.
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Stuff with encrypted memory tends to implement it at the memory controller level too. Usually in between L2 cache and the DRAM proper.
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Anything do encrypted RAM in widespread production?
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Xbox 360, Xbox One, iPhone (recent SEP models).
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