4 ms·
Content-addressable storage: where object placement is defined by its contents
- SixSigma 11y agoContent addressable memory was use in Staran [1] for parallel execution of Air Traffic Control in 1972 There is a great book on the subject [2] which is mind expanding. In more modern times is the Venti file server for Plan9 which uses SHA hashes as block addresses to build file contents thereby auto-consolidating duplicate file storage among other interesting features. [3] Which was invented by Sean Quinlan and Sean Dorward at Bell Labs (both now it Google iirc) and later maintained by Russ Cox who you may know from go-lang. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STARAN https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STARAN [2] http://www.amazon.com/Content-Addressable-Parallel-Processors-Computer/dp/0442224338 http://www.amazon.com/Content-Addressable-Parallel-Processor... [3] http://www.cs.bell-labs.com/sys/doc/venti/venti.html http://www.cs.bell-labs.com/sys/doc/venti/venti.html
- seiji 11y agoLet's not forget the most important content addressable storage: your brain. You remember things by contents, then all the contents are interconnected. Brains don't have primary-key based lookup tables.
- mud_dauber 11y agoContent-addressable memories are also available in the semiconductor world. They enjoy a lucrative niche in networking hardware boxes as address lookup tables, usually embedded in the processor core.