Data Backup Digest

In 2014, the developers with HP announced their plans for “The Machine,” a highly advanced system that combines the functionality of a server, workstation, PC and a mobile device all into one package. Per the original announcement, The Machine was to use combined computational processing power in order to handle and store data. As industry professionals waited patiently to see a functional prototype, HP’s team was actually repurposing their device to use a memory-driven architecture instead.

While the announcement of The Machine’s memory-driven architecture has been a letdown to some, the device still has plenty of potential. Expected to boast 320 TB of memory, as opposed to the 12 TB that is seen in some high-end HP computers that are currently on the market, and slated for a release in 2016, The Machine is still turning heads across the industry.

According to HP’s official web portal for The Machine, they will be “discarding a computing model that has stood unchallenged for sixty years,” and they are “poised to leave sixty years of compromises and inefficiencies behind.” The website goes on to say: “The Machine will fuse memory and storage, flatten complex data hierarchies, bring processing closer to the data, embed security control points throughout the hardware and software stacks, and enable management and assurance of the system at scale.”

Specifically, The Machine will utilize a protocol that combines the different tiers of internal memory and storage into a single pool referred to as “universal memory.” Essentially, The Machine will be optimized to accommodate non-volatile memory in every way possible, including through a custom-designed operating system.

Moreover, HP has announced that their software will be open source, thereby giving independent and third-party developers the chance to capitalize on the functionality of The Machine.

Martin Fink, CTO and director of HP Labs, spoke candidly about the current state of The Machine, and he even hinted at future upgrades and improvements. He was quoted as saying: “Remember, we’re talking about the first realization of The Machine architecture. Version 0.9 if you will. The versions that follow will only get better. Should we use another memory technology if it matures before Memristor? Phase-change RAM, perhaps? Again, the answer is yes, of course.”

CEO of HP, Meg Whitman, also spoke about The Machine. She was quoted as saying: “We believe that the implications of the Machine will be dramatic. Energy consumption problems will virtually disappear. More real-time data will be processed into valuable, actionable insights and we’ll be presented with newly accessible information in medicine, in retailing, transportation, security, you name it.” She went on to say: “This is how the world will take advantage of the Internet of Things without drowning in a sea of raw data,” and: “When we say, ‘HP invents the future,’ this is what we’re talking about.”

To find out more information about The Machine by HP Labs, please visit their official website at www.hpl.hp.com. Here you’ll be able to access recent blog posts, publications and even the latest career opportunities with the company.