Associative Memories and Processors: The Exact Match Paradigm

Associative or content addressable memories (CAM) are crucial in the implementation of high performance computing architectures for applications that require intensive data management or are cognitive in nature. The basic architecture of associative memories can be based on either the exact match or neural network models. This paper focuses on exact match associative memories. The milestone achievements in the field since the first associative memory implementation four decades ago are discussed. A classification of the diverse associative computing architectures is presented. It comprises of two levels of distinction, the associative memory organization and the processing capability which heavily depends on the application domain. Recent development in associative processing applications are also discussed which include fast routing in communication networks, memory management, database management, image processing, and artificial intelligence applications.

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