According to industry sources on Oct. 17, SK hynix recently collaborated with the data processing platform company HazelCast to publish a white paper on the application of Compute Express Link (CXL) technology.

SK hynix has revealed empirical results indicating that by using the next-generation CXL memory it can enhance data processing capacity by more than 40%. CXL is a novel interface designed for more efficient utilization of the Central Processing Unit (CPU), memory, Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), storage devices, and more in computing systems.

Following its collaboration with HazelCast, the results demonstrated that the application of SK hynix’s CXL memory to HazelCast’s information processing platform significantly improved the system’s performance. By expanding the bandwidth of the CXL memory, the system processing rate increased by up to 40%, outpacing systems that only utilized DRAM. Furthermore, latency was improved by up to 30-50%. This indicates that by using CXL memory alongside, one can save on the high costs of DRAM.

CXL is a next-generation interface that can overcome memory capacity limits. Particularly in scenarios where data processing demands are rapidly increasing due to Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, CXL’s scalability is drawing industry attention.

Traditionally, different devices have had different connection methods. However, CXL unifies multiple interfaces, allowing direct device connections and shared memory. This not only expands memory capacity and performance but also addresses issues related to data processing delay and speed reductions.

In August 2022, SK hynix pioneered the development of a DDR5 DRAM-based CXL memory sample. In May, at the IT exhibition Dell Technologies World (DTW) 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the U.S., it also showcased CXL memory in real servers.

The CXL memory market hasn’t fully matured yet, as CPUs capable of utilizing CXL memory have not yet been launched. However, Intel is expected to release its first commercial server CPU dubbed Sierra Forest in the first half of next year. Prior to this, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are set to produce next-generation CXL 2.0 memory later this year.

Industry insiders anticipate the CXL market to start growing significantly from 2026. Market research firm Yole Intelligence predicts that by 2030, in a data center memory market worth US$100 billion, CXL memory will account for over US$20 billion dollars of that.