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In short: GPUs have reminiscence limitations when going through the calls for of AI and HPC functions. There are methods round this bottleneck, however the options could be costly and cumbersome. Now, a startup headquartered in Daejeon, South Korea, has developed a brand new method: utilizing PCIe-attached reminiscence to broaden capability. Growing this answer required leaping via many tech hoops and there are nonetheless challenges forward. Particularly, will AMD, Intel, and Nvidia help the expertise?
Reminiscence necessities stemming from superior datasets for AI and HPC functions usually swamp the reminiscence constructed right into a GPU. Increasing that reminiscence has usually meant putting in costly excessive bandwidth reminiscence, which regularly introduces adjustments to the present GPU structure or software program.
One answer to this bottleneck is being provided by Panmnesia, an organization backed by South Korea’s KAIST analysis institute, which has launched new tech that permits GPUs to entry system reminiscence instantly via a Compute Specific Hyperlink (CXL) interface. Basically, it permits GPUs to make use of system reminiscence as an extension of their very own reminiscence.
Known as CXL GPU Picture, this PCIe-attached reminiscence has a double-digit nanosecond latency that’s considerably sooner than conventional SSDs, the corporate says.
Panmnesia needed to overcome a number of tech challenges to develop this technique.
CXL is a protocol that works on high of a PCIe hyperlink, however the expertise must be acknowledged by an ASIC and its subsystem. In different phrases, one can not merely add a CXL controller to the tech stack as there isn’t a CXL logic material and subsystems that help DRAM and/or SSD endpoints in GPUs.
Additionally, GPU cache and reminiscence subsystems don’t acknowledge any expansions besides unified digital reminiscence (UVM), which isn’t quick sufficient for AI or HPC. In checks by Panmnesia, UVM carried out the worst amongst all examined GPU kernels. The CXL, nevertheless, offered direct entry to expanded storage through load/retailer directions, eliminating the problems hampering UVM comparable to overhead from host runtime intervention throughout web page faults and transferring information on the web page degree.
What Panmnesia developed in response is a collection of {hardware} layers that help the entire key CXL protocols, consolidating them right into a unified controller.
The CXL 3.1-compliant root complicated has a number of root ports supporting exterior reminiscence over PCIe and a number bridge with a host-managed machine reminiscence decoder that connects to the GPU’s system bus and manages the system reminiscence.
There are different challenges that Panmnesia is going through that transcend its management, a giant one being that AMD and Nvidia should add CXL help to their GPUs. It’s attainable that trade gamers resolve they just like the method of utilizing PCIe-attached reminiscence for GPUs – and go on to develop their very own expertise.
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