RAM versus CAM

Random access memory (RAM) devices are fast, storage-efficient and secure. However, they are also passive devices and they require complex and large data structures to be broken down into small pieces, thus losing intrinsic links. They are also incapable of forming associations among memory items. Content-addressable memory (CAM) devices overcome these limitations. Although these devices are expensive, they are capable of supporting parallelism at the basic level of computer hardware.