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We make the case that the time for memory disaggregation has arrived. We look at past successful disaggregation stories and learn that their success depended on two requirements: addressing a burning issue and being technically feasible. We examine memory disaggregation through this lens and find that both requirements are finally met. Once available, memory disaggregation will require software support to be used effectively. We discuss some of the challenges of designing an operating system that can utilize disaggregated memory for itself and its applications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1145\/3606557.3606563","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,28]],"date-time":"2023-06-28T16:25:16Z","timestamp":1687969516000},"page":"38-46","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":25,"title":["Memory disaggregation: why now and what are the challenges"],"prefix":"10.1145","volume":"57","author":[{"given":"Marcos K.","family":"Aguilera","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"VMware Research"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Emmanuel","family":"Amaro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VMware Research"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nadav","family":"Amit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VMware Research"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Erika","family":"Hunhoff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Colorado, Boulder"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anil","family":"Yelam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UC San Diego"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gerd","family":"Zellweger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VMware Research"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"320","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_1_1_1","first-page":"1","volume-title":"European Conference on Computer Systems","author":"Amaro Emmanuel","year":"2020","unstructured":"Emmanuel Amaro , Christopher Branner-Augmon , Zhihong Luo , Amy Ousterhout , Marcos K Aguilera , Aurojit Panda , Sylvia Ratnasamy , and Scott Shenker . 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