Persistent Memory & CXL Programming Workshop & Hackathon
What This Program Covers
The Workshop and Hackathon Program provides the foundational knowledge and practical hands-on resources required to understand, manage, and write software for persistent memory tiers and Compute Express Link (CXL) attached memory architectures. Participants leave with a working understanding of how to use existing APIs to program memory and where further research and development may be of benefit.
Course materials — tutorials and source code — have been continually updated since the program launched in 2019. Virtual cloud-based systems are available for remote access, letting participants run exercises against real persistent memory and CXL hardware without a local lab.
Persistent Memory
Byte-addressable persistence using open-source interfaces built into the Linux kernel and PMDK.
- Memory-mapped file access
- Persistent Memory Development Kit (PMDK)
- Transactional data consistency
- PMDK.io and kernel-native APIs
CXL Memory
Expanded memory programming models for CXL Type 3 devices in modern server ecosystems.
- Software-defined memory tiering
- CXL.mem programming model
- Unified Memory Format (UMF)
- Memory discovery and allocation
Get Started with the Exercises
Browse the CXL playlist.How to Log On to the PM and CXL Hackathon
Watch: How to log on and access the virtual hackathon systems.
CXL Hackathon Exercises Tutorial
WATCH: Detailed walkthrough of each exercise with specifics on programming CXL memory modules.
SNIA Hackathon Program in the SNIA Innovation Lab
WATCH: Short overview of the demonstration system used to access CXL hardware remotely.
Unified Memory Framework unified API for diverse memory technologies
WATCH: Unified Memory Format (UMF) — how CXL memory can be discovered and used in practice.
Central Repository References
All materials — specifications, PMDK libraries, and hackathon exercises — are openly available through the links below.
Resource | Link | Description |
| Official Hackathon Portal | snia.org/pm-hackathon | Main developer portal and program entry point |
| Hackathon GitHub Organization | github.com/pmemhackathon | Exercise source code and hackathon repositories |
| PMDK Main Repository | github.com/pmem/pmdk | Persistent Memory Development Kit — open-source library suite |
| CXL Programming Info | snia.org/pmhackathon | CXL memory programming overview and supplemental resources |
Mentors & contributors
The SNIA Persistent Memory Special Interest Group and the broader Compute, Memory, and Storage Community serve as mentors, providing materials and helping participants develop sample code based on open-source persistent memory interfaces found in the Linux kernel, PMDK, and related projects.
We thank the companies who have provided persistent memory access and systems over the years, including AgigA Tech, Google, Intel, SMART Modular, and Supermicro. The latest persistent memory technology resides in our cloud-based systems, available to all registered participants.
Interested in corporate or group training? We can support physical or virtual hackathon events. Contact us at [email protected] to schedule.
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Ready to start programming?
Access the virtual systems, exercises, and community resources — no local hardware required.
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