Interleaved memory

One way of allocating virtual addresses to memory modules is to divide the memory space into contiguous blocks. The CPU can access alternate sections immediately, without waiting for memory to catch up (through wait states). Interleaved memory is one technique for compensating for the relatively slow speed of dynamic RAM (DRAM). Other techniques include page-mode memory and memory caches.

Interleaved memories are the implementation of the concept of accessing more words in a single memory access cycle. This can be achieved by partitioning the memory e.g. into N separate memory modules. Thus, N accesses can be carried out to the memory simultaneously.

 

from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interleaved_memory

 

 

 

内存交错（Memory interleave）提升了对大内存的访问速度

SPARC Enterprise M3000及以上型号使用内存交错技术。并行地访问多个内存芯片可改进内存的访问性能。在需要处理大量数据的应用中，该功能尤其有效。

在典型的服务器系统中，大量连续的内存访问可能是性能瓶颈，因为内存访问时延会带来等待时间。

SPARC Enterprise 的内存交错功能可并行阅读大内存芯片，减小内存访问时间。

内存交错功能最多可并行访问单CPU内存板上的 32 个内存芯片。

 

reference:

 

Interleaving is an advanced technique used by high-end motherboards/chipsets to improve memory performance. Memory interleaving increases bandwidth by allowing simultaneous access to more than one chunk of memory. This improves performance because the processor can transfer more information to/from memory in the same amount of time, and helps alleviate the processor-memory bottleneck that is a major limiting factor in overall performance.

Interleaving works by dividing the system memory into multiple blocks. The most common numbers are two or four, called two-way or four-way interleaving, respectively. Each block of memory is accessed using different sets of control lines, which are merged together on the memory bus. When a read or write is begun to one block, a read or write to other blocks can be overlapped with the first one. The more blocks, the more that overlapping can be done. As an analogy, consider eating a plate of food with a fork. Two-way interleaving would mean dividing the food onto two plates and eating with both hands, using two forks. (Four-way interleaving would require two more hands. :^) ) Remember that here the processor is doing the "eating" and it is much faster than the forks (memory) "feeding" it (unlike a person, whose hands are generally faster.)

In order to get the best performance from this type of memory system, consecutive memory addresses are spread over the different blocks of memory. In other words, if you have 4 blocks of interleaved memory, the system doesn't fill the first block, and then the second and so on. It uses all 4 blocks, spreading the memory around so that the interleaving can be exploited.

Interleaving is an advanced technique that is not generally supported by most PC motherboards, most likely due to cost. It is most helpful on high-end systems, especially servers, that have to process a great deal of information quickly. The Intel Orion chipset is one that does support memory interleaving.