Computer Storage devices

11 min readOct 12, 2021

1) Definition of computer storage devices

Storage devices are any type of computer hardware used to port, store, or extract data files and objects. Storage devices can temporarily and permanently retain and store information. They can be internal or external to a computer, server, or computer device.

2) The usage of storage devices

A warehouse device is a piece of computer tackle used for saving, carrying, and pulling out data. It can keep and retain information short- term or long- term. It can be a device out or outside a computer or waitperson. Other terms for warehouse device is warehouse medium or warehouse media.

A warehouse device is one of the rudimentary principles of any computer device. It fair saves all data and uses in a computer except for stuff firmware. It comes in different shapes and sizes depending on the needful and functionalities.

3) Types of storage

I. Primary storage:-

Primary storage is the computer component containing the data, programs, and instructions currently in use. The main memory is located on the motherboard. As a result, data can be read and written to the main memory very quickly. That allows the processor to quickly access the data and instructions contained in the main memory

1. read-only memory (ROM)

ROM stands for Read-Only Memory. Refers to a computer memory chip that contains permanent or semi-permanent data. Consists of several kilobytes of code that tell the computer what to do at startup, for example, run hardware diagnostics and load the operating system into RAM

2. random access memory (RAM)

Random-access Memory (RAM) is the system’s short-term data storage. It stores information the computer is actively using to be accessed quickly. The more programs running on the system, the more memory will need. There are two types of RAM,

- DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory)

- SRAM (Static Random Access Memory)

3. flash memory

Flash memory is a durable, non-volatile storage chip that is widely used in embedded systems. It can keep the stored data and information even when the power goes out. It can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. EEPROM (Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). developed flash memory

4. cache memory

cache memory, also called Cache, Cache is a high-speed access area that can be Either a reserved section of main memory or a storage device. Most computers today come with L3 Cache and L2 Cache, while older computers included only L1 Cache

II. Secondary storage:-

Secondary reminiscence is likewise termed as external memory. It refers back to the diverse storage media on which a laptop can shop statistics and programs. The Secondary storage media may be constant or removable. Fixed Storage media is an inner storage medium like a hard disk.

Hard Disk

Hard disk, also called hard disk or hard disk, magnetic storage media for computers. A hard drive is a flat round plate made of aluminum or glass and coated with magnetic material. Hard drives for personal computers can store terabytes (trillions of bytes) of information. There are two types of hard disk.

• Internal Hard disk

• External Hard disk

III. Tertiary storage:-

Tertiary storage includes high-capacity data storage designed to incorporate large amounts of removable media, such as optical tape or discs. Removable media is usually not stored in the proper drive but is stored in a specially crafted storage slot, shelf, or carousel when offline This is especially useful for colossal data archives, accessible without human operator Examples

1. Magnetic tape

· Magnetic tape is a magnetic recording medium consisting of a thin, magnetizable film on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. Magnetic tape has revolutionized the recording, reproduction, and transmission of sound. That allows the radio, which is continuously broadcast live, to be recorded for subsequent or repeated broadcasts .

2. Optical Disc

A disc with a plastic coating on which information (such as music, visual images, or computer data) is digitally recorded (as in the form of tiny dimples) and read using a laser. The most common types of optical media are,

· Blu-ray Disc(BD)

· Compact Disc(CD)

· Digital Versatile Disc(DVD)

IV. Offline storage:-

Offline storage must be physically attached or plugged into a computer system every time used it. Devices such as portable hard drives, Floppy Disk, Zip diskette, USB flash drives, and SD cards are examples of offline storage.

4) Types of computer storage devices

I. Magnetic storage devices:-

In the Magnetic storage devices, all data are stored with using magnetized medium, and those types of data saved in that medium in the binary form like as 0 and 1. This magnetic storage has also non-volatile storage nature. Today’s, mostly people are preferred to magnetic medium because on the magnetic storage devices can be performed read/write activities very easily.

II. Optical storage devices:-

Optical storage is also known as “Optical Media” or “Optical Memory” or “Optical Medium“, and it allows all read and write activities which are performed by laser beam.

In Optical Memory, all recording information is stored at an optical disk. As per the opinions of data scientist that compact space is most useful for huge data storage. Their big advantages are not more costly, light weight, and easy to transport because it is removable device unlike hard drive. (Banger, Optical Storage Devices: Examples, Types, Advantages, Disadvantages, 2021)

III. Flash Memory devices:-

Flash memory, data-storage medium used with computers and other electronic devices. Unlike previous forms of data storage, flash memory is an EEPROM (electronically erasable programmable read-only memory) form of computer memory and thus does not require a power source to retain the data.

Flash memory was invented in the early 1980s by Japanese engineer Masuoka Fujio, who was then working at the Toshiba Corporation and who was searching for a technology that would replace existing data-storage media such as magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips. The name flash was coined by Ariizumi Shoji, a coworker of Masuoka, who said the process of memory erasure, which can erase all the data on an entire chip at one time, was like a camera’s flash. (Flash memory | electronics)

IV. Online Cloud storage devices:-

systems. It is designed to be maintained, managed, backed up, and generally delivered to users over the Internet. Users usually pay a single consumption per month to store their cloud data on a mouse.

There are four types of cloud storage solutions.

· Private Cloud Storage. Just as the name may suggest, this type of cloud storage means that the infrastructure is used by a single person or company hence the high level of privacy and security.

· Public Cloud Storage

· Community cloud storage

· Hybrid Storage

Examples of online storage

· I Drive

· Mega

· Microsoft One Drive.

· Google Drive. Google itself developed Google drive.

5) Most used storage devices

Optical discs and flash memory devices are most popular, and to much lesser extent removable hard disk drives. In enterprise uses, magnetic tape is predominant. Older examples are floppy disks, Zip disks, or punched cards.

I. Hard disk:-

A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk[b] is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage and one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnetic material. The platters are paired with magnetic heads, usually arranged on a moving actuator arm, which read and write data to the platter surfaces.[2] Data is accessed in a random-access manner, meaning that individual blocks of data can be stored and retrieved in any order. HDDs are a type of non-volatile storage, retaining stored data even when powered off.[3][4][5] Modern HDDs are typically in the form of a small rectangular box.

Introduced by IBM in 1956,[6] HDDs were the dominant secondary storage device for general-purpose computers beginning in the early 1960s. HDDs maintained this position into the modern era of servers and personal computers, though personal computing devices produced in large volume, like cell phones and tablets, rely on flash memory storage devices. More than 224 companies have produced HDDs historically, though after extensive industry consolidation most units are manufactured by Seagate, Toshiba, and Western Digital. HDDs dominate the volume of storage produced (exabytes per year) for servers. Though production is growing slowly (by exabytes shipped[7]), sales revenues and unit shipments are declining because solid-state drives (SSDs) have higher data-transfer rates, higher areal storage density, somewhat better reliability,[8][9] and much lower latency and access times. (contributors, Hard disk drive, 2021)

II. Solid State Drive:-

A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies to store data persistently, typically using flash memory, and functioning as secondary storage in the hierarchy of computer storage. It is also sometimes called a solid-state device or a solid-state disk,[1] even though SSDs lack the physical spinning disks and movable read–write heads used in hard disk drives (HDDs) and floppy disks.

Compared with electromechanical drives, SSDs are typically more resistant to physical shock, run silently, and have quicker access time and lower latency.[3] SSDs store data in semiconductor cells. As of 2019, cells can contain between 1 and 4 bits of data. SSD storage devices vary in their properties according to the number of bits stored in each cell, with single-bit cells (“Single Level Cells” or “SLC”) being generally the most reliable, durable, fast, and expensive type, compared with 2- and 3-bit cells (“Multi-Level Cells/MLC” and “Triple-Level Cells/TLC”), and finally quad-bit cells (“QLC”) being used for consumer devices that do not require such extreme properties and are the cheapest per Gigabyte of the four. In addition, 3D XPoint memory (sold by Intel under the Optane brand), stores data by changing the electrical resistance of cells instead of storing electrical charges in cells, and SSDs made from RAM can be used for high speed, when data persistence after power loss is not required, or may use battery power to retain data when its usual power source is unavailable.[4] Hybrid drives or solid-state hybrid drives (SSHDs), such as Apple’s Fusion Drive, combine features of SSDs and HDDs in the same unit using both flash memory and a HDD in order to improve the performance of frequently-accessed data. Bcache allows to achieve a similar effect purely in software, using combinations of dedicated regular SSDs and HDDs. (contributors, Solid-state drive, 2021)

III. Blu-Ray:-

The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc storage format. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of storing several hours of high-definition video (HDTV 720p and 1080p). The main application of Blu-ray is as a medium for video material such as feature films and for the physical distribution of video games for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. The name “Blu-ray” refers to the blue laser (which is actually a violet laser) used to read the disc, which allows information to be stored at a greater density than is possible with the longer-wavelength red laser used for DVDs.

The plastic disc is 120 millimeters (4.7 in) in diameter and 1.2 millimeters (0.047 in) thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs.[5] Conventional or pre-BD-XL Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual-layer discs (50 GB) being the industry standard for feature-length video discs. Triple-layer discs (100 GB) and quadruple-layer discs (128 GB) are available for BD-XL re-writer drives. (contributors, Blu-ray, 2021)

IV. DVD (Digital Versatile Disk:-

The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc)[8][9] is a digital optical disc data storage format invented and developed in 1995 and released in late 1996. The medium can store any kind of digital data and was widely used for software and other computer files as well as video programs watched using DVD players. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than compact discs while having the same dimensions.

Ø Prerecorded DVDs are mass-produced using molding machines that physically stamp data onto the DVD. Such discs are a form of DVD-ROM because data can only be read and not written or erased. Blank recordable DVD discs (DVD-R and DVD+R) can be recorded once using a DVD recorder and then function as a DVD-ROM. Rewritable DVDs (DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM) can be recorded and erased many times. (contributors, DVD, 2021)

6) Characteristics of computer storage devices

Secondary storage refers to any device that can store data, in addition to main memory. Secondary storage devices are non-volatile and are typically high capacity, portable or both.

Factors affecting the choice of a secondary storage device include:

·speed (how quickly data can be accessed)

· cost per storage unit (i.e. price per gigabyte or megabyte)

· durability (toughness)

· portability (how easy it is to move it from one computer to another)

Uses, advantages and disadvantages of storage media

(Storage devices — Hardware and network technologies — CCEA — GCSE Digital Technology (CCEA) Revision)

REFERENCES

Banger, E. (2021, 09 19). Magnetic Storage Devices: Examples, Types, Advantages, Disadvantages. Retrieved 10 11, 2021, from DigitalThinkerHelp: https://digitalthinkerhelp.com/what-is-magnetic-storage-definition-devices-examples-and-types/

Banger, E. (2021, 09 19). Optical Storage Devices: Examples, Types, Advantages, Disadvantages. Retrieved 10 11, 2021, from DigitalThinkerHelp: https://digitalthinkerhelp.com/what-is-optical-storage-types-devices-examples-advantages-disadvantages/

contributors, W. (2021, 10 10). Blu-ray. Retrieved 10 12, 2021, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray

contributors, W. (2021, 10 06). DVD. Retrieved 10 12, 2021, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD

contributors, W. (2021, 10 12). Hard disk drive. Retrieved 10 12, 2021, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive

contributors, W. (2021, 10 07). Solid-state drive. Retrieved 10 12, 2021, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive

Flash memory | electronics. (n.d.). Retrieved 10 11, 2021, from Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/technology/flash-memory

Storage devices — Hardware and network technologies — CCEA — GCSE Digital Technology (CCEA) Revision. (n.d.). Retrieved 10 12, 2021, from BBC Bitesize: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ztyd3k7/revision/4