Abstract
The main purpose of a memory consistency model is to serve as an agreement between hardware system designers and software developers on the semantics of memory operations so as to ensure correct execution of user programs. However, the bulk of past work on memory consistency models has been pursued from the hardware viewpoint. In this viewpoint, a memory consistency model is used to specify certain behavioral properties that are guaranteed by uniprocessor/multiprocessor hardware e.g., the memory coherence property. In this paper, we argue that it is essential to adopt an end-to-end view of memory consistency that can be understood at all levels of software and hardware. We believe that this is possible with a memory consistency model based on partial order execution semantics — such as the Location Consistency (LC) model — rather than on the memory coherence assumption.
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Gao, G.R., Sarkar, V. (1997). On the importance of an end-to-end view of memory consistency in future computer systems. In: Polychronopoulos, C., Joe, K., Araki, K., Amamiya, M. (eds) High Performance Computing. ISHPC 1997. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1336. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0024201
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0024201
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