KLNK: Expanding Page Boundaries in a Distributed Shared Memory System

Abstract

Software-based distributed shared memory (DSM) allows multiple processes to access shared data without the need for specialized hardware. However, this flexibility comes at a significant cost due to the need for data synchronization. One approach to mitigate these costs is to relax the consistency model, which can lead to delayed updates to the shared data. This approach typically requires the use of explicit synchronization primitives to regulate access to the shared memory and determine the timing of data synchronization. To circumvent the need for explicit synchronization, an alternative approach is to manage shared memory transparently using the underlying system. While this can simplify programming, it often imposes a fixed granularity for data sharing, which can limit the expansion of the coherence domain and increase the synchronization requirements. To overcome this limitation, we propose an abstraction called the elastic coherence domain, which dynamically adjusts the scope of data synchronization and is supported by the underlying system for transparent management of shared memory. The experimental results show that this approach can improve the efficiency of memory sharing in distributed environments.