A Flower-Inspired Solution for Computer Memory Wear-Leveling

TL;DR

This paper introduces a flower-inspired dual-ring wear leveling method for computer memory that extends lifespan by evenly distributing wear without hardware changes or performance loss.

Contribution

It proposes a novel deterministic wear leveling technique inspired by natural patterns, compatible with existing memory management, and applicable to various memory types.

Findings

Reduces memory wear effectively

No hardware modifications needed

Maintains program performance

Abstract

Lengthening a computer memory's lifespan is important for e-waste and sustainability. Uneven wear of memory is a major barrier. The problem is becoming even more urgent as emerging memory such as phase-change memory is subject to even shorter lifespan. Various solutions have been proposed, but they either require complicated hardware extensions or apply only to certain program constructs such as loops. This research proposes a new method, dual-ring wear leveling. It takes inspiration from the natural law known as the ``golden ratio" and how it helps flower petals evenly receive sun lights. By modeling memory as two rings and combines the idea with existing memory management, garbage collection, the new solution offers an effective way to reduce memory wear and hence lengthen memory lifespan. It is deterministic, able to automatically adapt to memory size, requiring no hardware changes, and adding no slowdown to program executions.