Is SSD with CXL interfaces brilliantly stupid or stupidly brilliant?

CXL has garnered increasing attention from the industry, with a predominant focus on memory expanders utilizing DRAM-based technology. However, the discontinuation of Optane and the growing demand for extensive memory in new ML models have prompted the storage and system communities to urgently seek alternative solutions. In a keynote address last year, Dr. Ki presented compelling reasons for the storage community to seriously consider CXL adoption. This year, he continues the discourse by delving into diverse NAND solutions integrated with CXL interfaces, highlighting their inherent advantages. These benefits encompass persistent memory, TCO-optimized tiered memory, high-performance small IO, data-centric computing, and more. Dr. Ki will provide in-depth discussions on practical use cases, technical challenges, and preliminary findings to enlighten the community about the immense potential of this technology. The aim is to foster awareness and understanding of the transformative capabilities of CXL-based NAND solutions. Furthermore, the presentation will cover Samsung's collaborative efforts with eco partners to establish robust hardware and software ecosystems. By actively engaging with various stakeholders, Samsung seeks to build an inclusive and sustainable environment conducive to technological advancement and environmental stewardship.