Very Large Database Applications of the Connection Machine System

The architecture of the Connection Machine system is particularly appropriate for large database applications. The Connection Machine system consists of 65,536 processors, each with its own memory, coupled by a high speed communications network. In large database applications, individual data elements are stored in separate processors and are operated on simultaneously. This paper examines two applications of this technology. The first, which will be examined in the greatest detail, is the use of the Connection Machine System for document retrieval. The second topic is the application of the Connection Machine to associative memory or content addressable memory tasks. This ability has been put to use in a method called “memory-based reasoning” which can produce expert system-like behavior from a database of records of earlier decisions. These classes of applications both scale well; the application of supercomputer power to such problems offers unprecedented functionality and opportunities.