Pursue robust indefinite scalability
David H. Ackley, Daniel C. Cannon · 2011
Abstract For research insights and development poten-tial, we should explore computer architectures designed to scale indefinitely. Given physical limits, we argue an indefinitely scalable computer should or must (1) reveal to programmers its component spatial relationships, (2) forego unique addresses, and (3) operate asynchronously. Further, such a machine and its programming must be in-herently robust against local failures and outages, and be operable during its own construction. We propose the indefinitely scalable Movable Feast Machine, which defers many architectural decisions to an execution model that associates processing, memory, and communications functions with movable bit patterns rather than fixed locations. We illustrate basic and novel computational elements such as self-healing wire, sim-