In Praise of
Memory Systems: Cache, DRAM, Disk
Memory Systems: Cache, DRAM, Disk is the fi rst book that takes on the whole hierarchy in a way that is
consistent, covers the complete memory hierarchy, and treats each aspect in signifi cant detail. This book will
serve as a defi nitive reference manual for the expert designer, yet it is so complete that it can be read by a relative
novice to the computer design space. While memory technologies improve in terms of density and performance,
and new memory device technologies provide additional properties as design options, the principles and meth-
odology presented in this amazingly complete treatise will remain useful for decades. I only wish that a book
like this had been available when I started out more than three decades ago. It truly is a landmark publication.
Kudos to the authors.
—Al Davis, University of Utah
Memory Systems: Cache, DRAM, Disk fi lls a huge void in the literature about modern computer architecture.
The book starts by providing a high level overview and building a solid knowledge basis and then provides the
details for a deep understanding of essentially all aspects of modern computer memory systems including archi-
tectural considerations that are put in perspective with cost, performance and power considerations. In addi-
tion, the historical background and politics leading to one or the other implementation are revealed. Overall,
Jacob, Ng, and Wang have created one of the truly great technology books that turns reading about bits and bytes
into an exciting journey towards understanding technology.
—Michael Schuette, Ph.D., VP of Technology Development at OCZ Technology
This book is a critical resource for anyone wanting to know how DRAM, cache, and hard drives really work.
It describes the implementation issues, timing constraints, and trade-offs involved in past, present, and future
designs. The text is exceedingly well-written, beginning with high-level analysis and proceeding to incredible
detail only for those who need it. It includes many graphs that give the reader both explanation and intuition.
This will be an invaluable resource for graduate students wanting to study these areas, implementers, designers,
and professors.
—Diana Franklin, California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo
Memory Systems: Cache, DRAM, Disk fi lls an important gap in exploring modern disk technology with accu-
racy, lucidity, and authority. The details provided would only be known to a researcher who has also contributed
in the development phase. I recommend this comprehensive book to engineers, graduate students, and research-
ers in the storage area, since details provided in computer architecture textbooks are woefully inadequate.
—Alexander Thomasian, IEEE Fellow, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Thomasian and Associates
Memory Systems: Cache, DRAM, Disk offers a valuable state of the art information in memory systems that
can only be gained through years of working in advanced industry and research. It is about time that we have
such a good reference in an important fi eld for researchers, educators and engineers.
—Nagi Mekhiel, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto
This is the only book covering the important DRAM and disk technologies in detail. Clear, comprehensive, and
authoritative, I have been waiting for such a book for long time.
—Yiming Hu, University of Cincinnati
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