Abstract
The cloud is a rapidly expanding and increasingly prominent component of modern computing. Monolithic servers limit the flexibility of cloud-based systems, however, due to static memory limitations. Developments in OS design, distributed memory systems, and address translation have been crucial in aiding the progress of the cloud. In this paper, we discuss recent developments in virtualization, OS design and distributed memory structures with regards to their current impact and relevance to future work on eliminating memory limits in cloud computing. We argue that creating physical memory pools is essential for cheaper and more efficient cloud computing infrastructures, and we identify research challenges to implement these structures.