Content Addressable Memory System Concepts

A formal descriptive definition of a computer memory which, because of inherent parallelism, data manipulative capability, and resulting speed advantage over conventional central processor memories, offers promise of providing substantial increases in computational capability for a large class of Army data-processing problems. The basic forte of this memory is its ability to search its entire contents in one unit cycle time for adherence of the stored data to the imposed search criteria. These storage systems are conventionally called Content Addressable Memories (CAM's); today they represent an unstandardized concept with respect to their capabilities, applications, and organizations. A hierarchy (according to capability) of CAM's is developed; each new version possesses the characteristics of the previous, but incorporates a new sophistication, until the "full capability" CAM concept is developed. Finally, guidelines are established to evaluate the economic potential of various techniques suitable for the realization of a "full capability" CAM, and possible applications are investigated for inclusion in Army automatic data-processing and communications systems.