Transparent DAX Mappings: Towards Automatic Kernel Bypass with CXL-Based Hybrid SSDs
Abstract:
Upcoming CXL-based hybrid SSDs offer a persistent memory
interface in addition to traditional block-based communica-
tion. Previous research argued that the non-uniform access
latencies (on-device DRAM cache hits vs. misses) of these
devices call for new OS-based resource management strate-
gies as existing DAX mechanisms were not built with this
device model in mind. In this work, we sketch Transparent
DAX Mappings, a novel approach to enable a broad range
of applications to benefit from hybrid SSDs. By opportunis-
tically handing out DAX mappings to processes through a
collaboration between the kernel and the C standard library,
we aim to achieve automatic kernel bypass for unmodified
I/O-heavy applications. We evaluate a preliminary imple-
mentation of our design on a Samsung CMM-H prototype
and demonstrate up to 96.2 % increased throughput in Valkey.
interface in addition to traditional block-based communica-
tion. Previous research argued that the non-uniform access
latencies (on-device DRAM cache hits vs. misses) of these
devices call for new OS-based resource management strate-
gies as existing DAX mechanisms were not built with this
device model in mind. In this work, we sketch Transparent
DAX Mappings, a novel approach to enable a broad range
of applications to benefit from hybrid SSDs. By opportunis-
tically handing out DAX mappings to processes through a
collaboration between the kernel and the C standard library,
we aim to achieve automatic kernel bypass for unmodified
I/O-heavy applications. We evaluate a preliminary imple-
mentation of our design on a Samsung CMM-H prototype
and demonstrate up to 96.2 % increased throughput in Valkey.
| Zugehörige Institution(en) am KIT | Institut für Technische Informatik (ITEC) |
| Publikationstyp | Proceedingsbeitrag |
| Publikationsdatum | 13.10.2025 |
| Sprache | Englisch |
| Identifikator | ISBN: 9798400722264 KITopen-ID: 1000188140 |
| Erschienen in | DIMES '25: Proceedings of the 3rd Workshop on Disruptive Memory Systems |
| Veranstaltung | 13th ACM SIGOPS Workshop on Programming Languages and Operating Systems (PLOS 2025), Seoul, Südkorea, 13.10.2025 – 16.10.2025 |
| Verlag | Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) |
| Seiten | 54 - 62 |
| Nachgewiesen in | OpenAlex Dimensions Scopus |