HPE shows off 160TB memory-driven computer prototype, future versions of which could help us get to Mars

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) today unveiled the world’s largest single-memory computer, a prototype system that it says is necessary for the next big technological breakthrough in the age of big data.

The new system represents the latest milestone in HPE’s The Machine research project, an undertaking that is reportedly the company’s largest R&D program to date.

Modern computers are centered around a processor that does most of the heavy lifting, but HPE’s memory-driven computing architecture deliberate puts the memory at the center of things by combining memory and storage into a shared pool. 

While traditional systems are bogged down by inefficiencies stemming from how the memory, storage, and processor interact with each other, memory-driven computing doesn't suffer from such issues and can drastically reduce the time needed to process complex problems. Furthermore, because multiple processors are able to access the shared memory, computing efficiency and speed are further improved. There is better flexibility as well, as different tasks can be matched to the right processor type to optimize performance.

The new prototype features 160TB of shared memory spread across 40 physical nodes, interconnected using a fabric protocol. It also relies on photonics and optical communication links, including the new X1 photonics module that can transfer up to 1.2TB of data per second.  

On the software front, the prototype runs a Linux-based operating system running on ThunderX2, an ARM-based SoC from Cavium.

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According to HPE, the prototype’s 160TB of memory is capable of simultaneously working with data equivalent to roughly 160 million books, a first for a single-memory system. Moving forward, HPE says the architecture can scale to an exabyte-scale single-memory system, and even beyond that to 4,096 yottabytes, a nearly limitless amount.

To put that figure in context, that is 250,000 times the data in the digital universe today. 

With that sort of capability, the possibilities are endless. A memory-driven system could work on the digital health record of every person on earth, or every shred of data from Facebook. That said, HPE has an even loftier goal in mind – space exploration, or more specifically, the mission to put us on Mars.

A Mars mission would require vast computing capacity and any computer that follows astronauts would have to be self-sufficient. A memory-driven computer could fill the role nicely one day, with its ability to handle huge troves of data and tease out previously hidden insights. Photonics, or the use of light instead of heavy, heat-producing copper wires to transmit data, would also enable the creation of lighter and faster computers that could be more easily transported. 

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