5.

2 MEMORY TECHNOLOGY
There are four primary technologies used today
in memory hierarchies.
DRAM & SRAM:-
Main memory is implemented from DRAM
(Dynamic Random access memory).

Levels closer to the processor(caches) use

SRAM (Static Random access memory).

DRAM is less costly per bit than SRAM.

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5.2

DRAM is substantially slower than SRAM.

DRAM uses significantly less area per bit of

memory.

DRAM have larger capacity for the same

amount of silicon .

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5.2
Flash Memory:-
• This nonvolatile memory is the
secondary memory in Personal Mobile
Devices.
Magnetic Disk:-

• Used to implement the largest and

slowest level in the hierarchy in servers
is magnetic disk.

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5.2

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5.2 i) SRAM Technology:
• SRAMs are simply integrated circuits
that are memory arrays with a single
i) access port that can provide either a
read or write.
• SRAMS have a fixed access time
though the read and write access time
ii) may differ.
• SRAMs don't need to refresh and so
the access time is very close to the
iii) cycle time.

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5.2
• SRAM typically use six to eight
transistors per bit to prevent the
information from being disturbed
iv) when read.

• SRAM needs only minimal power

to retain the charge in standby
v) mode.

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5.2 ii) DRAM Technology:
• DRAM the value kept in a cell is stored
i) as a charge in a capacitor.

• A single transistor is then used to

access this stored charge whether to
ii) read the value or to overwrite the
charge stored there.
• DRAMs use only a single transistor per
bit of storage they are much denser
iii) and cheaper per bit than SRAM.

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5.2
• DRAMs store the charge on a
capacitor it cannot be kept
iv) indefinitely and must periodically be
refreshed.

• Memory structure is called Dynamic.

v)

• DRAMs use a two-level decoding

structure and this allows us to refresh
vi) an entire row.

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5.2

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5.2
• The row organization that helps with refresh
also helps with performance.

• To improve performance DRAMs buffer rows

for repeated access.

• The buffer acts like an SRAM by changing the

address random bits can be accessed in the
buffer until the next row access.

• Capability improves the access time

significantly since the access time to bits in the
row is much lower.
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5.2
• To improve the interface to processors

 DRAMs added clocks and are

properly called Synchronous DRAMs
or SDRAMs.

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5.2

Advantages
SDRAM
(Synchronous DRAMs)

Use of a clock eliminates the time for

the memory and processor to
synchronize.

Ability to transfer the bits in the burst

without having to specify additional
address bits.
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5.2 The fastest version is called Double Data
Rate (DDR) SDRAM.
DDR-SDRAM

i) Data transfers on both the rising and falling edge of

the clock thereby getting twice as much bandwidth
as you might expect based on the clock rate and the
data width.
ii) The latest version of this technology is called DDR4
iii) A DDR4-3200 DRAM can do 3200 million transfers
per second which means it has a 1600 MHz clock

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5.2
Personal mobile devices
i) ipad use individual DRAMs memory for servers are
commonly sold on small boards call dual inline
memory modules (DIMMs).
ii) DIMMS typically contain 4 – 16 DRAMs and they are
normally organized to be 8 bytes wide for server
systems.
iii) A DIMM using DDR4 3200 SDRAMs could transfer
at 8 X 3200 = 25600 megabytes per second.

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5.2
iii) FLASH MEMORY

Flash memory is a type of electrically

erasable programmable read-only
memory(EEPROM).

EEPROM technologies writes can wear

out flash memory bits.

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5.2
iv) DISK MEMORY
• A magnetic hard disk consist of a collection of
platters which rotate on a spindle at 5400 to
15000 revolutions per minute.
• The metal platters are covered with magnetic
recording material on both sides.

• To read and write information on a hard disk a

movable arm containing a small
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5.2

Sectors

One of the segments that

make up a track on a
magnetic disk .
A sector is the smallest
amount of information that is
read or written on a disk.

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5.2
• The entire device is permanently sealed to
control the environment inside the drive which
in turn allows the disk heads to be much closer
to the drive surface.

• Each disk surface is divided into concentric

circles called tracks.

• There are typically tens of thousands of tracks

per surface.

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5.2

• Each track is in turn divided into sectors.

• Sectors are typically 512 to 4096 bytes in size.

• The sequence recorded on the magnetic media
is a sector number, a gap, the information for
that sector including

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5.2

Error Correction Code

Gap
Sector number of the next
sector

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5.2

Seek
Time

is to position the head over the

proper track this operation is
called seek and time to move the
head to the desired track is called
the seek time.

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5.2
• The disk heads for each surface are connected
together and move in conjunction so that
every head is over the same track of every
surface.

• The term cylinder is used to refer to all the

tracks under the heads at a given point on all
surfaces.

• To access data the operating system must

direct the disk through three stage process.
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5.2  Disk manufactures report minimum
seek time
 maximum seek time and
 average seek time in their manuals.

• The average seek time as the sum of the time

for all possible seeks divided by the number
of possible seeks.

• Average seek times are usually advertised as

3 ms to 13 ms.
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5.2

Rotational
Latency
(or)
Rotational
delay
The time required for the desired
sector of a disk to rotate under the
read/write head usually assumed
to be half the rotation time.

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5.2
• The average latency to the desired
information is halfway around the disk.

• Disks rotate at 5400 RPM to 15,000 RPM.

• The average rotational latency at 5400 RPM is

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5.2

Transfer time

Is the time to transfer a block of

bits.
The transfer time is a function of
the sector size the rotation speed
and the recording density of a
track.
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