64 bit computing (was: [Gllug] Fileserver hardware advice)

[Pete Ryland]

On 19/03/07, Richard Jones <rich at annexia.org> wrote:
> In future I expect that these large address spaces will make userland
> programs simpler too.  At Merjis I wrote programs which mapped 37.5 GB
> files into memory for analysis (on machines with only 1 or 2 GB of
> physical RAM).  Such things can't reasonably be attempted on 32 bit
> machines.

There are in fact whole operating systems that aim to use the 64-bit
address space by not supporting any other form of access.  For
example, Mungi:

http://www.ertos.nicta.com.au/research/mungi/

This maps everything to unique 64-bit addresses.  Each machine in a
cluster gets its own allocated address space, including all files and
networking services.  So if you want to reference a file on a remote
system, you can access it directly as you already have it in your
address space!  TLB exceptions take care of the intricacies for you.

Pete
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