Parallel Computer Architecture

1.2 Convergence of Parallel Architectures 25

This discussion of the trends toward parallel computers has been primarily from

the processor perspective, but you may arrive at the same conclusion from the mem-

ory system perspective. Consider briefly the design of a memory system to support a

very large amount of data, that is, the data set of

large

problems. One of the few

physical laws of computer architecture is that fast memories are small, large memo-

ries are slow. This occurrence is due to many factors, including the increased address

decode time, the delays on increasingly long bit lines, the small drive of increasingly

dense storage cells ...