STORAGE DEVICES AND

MEDIA
LIU WEN
WHAT IS A BACKING UP DATA?
Backing up data refers to the copying of files and data to different
medium in case of a problem with the main storage device.
Serial access:

Old data
stored on
magnetic
tape

New data to
be merged
with old
data.

New tape
produce by
merging A and
B.

WHY BACK UP DATA?
Data could be lost due failure of the original storage device. This could
be due to hardware failure, problems caused by files being over-
written accidentally or possible corruption of files.
Hackers could be responsible for the corruption or even lost data. This
may not be their intention.
Backups are also made in case the files need to be used elsewhere.
The original files are then protected possible corruption or loss.

TYPES OF ACCESS
1. Serial access
With this system, to access data it is necessary to start at the
beginning and then access each piece of data in turn until the
required information is found.
It is used on magnetic tape systems and is very slow form of access in
applications where speed of access or where the order in which the
data is not important.
When magnetic tape needs updating, an additional tape required so
that the old information can be merged with the new data.
TYPES OF ACCESS
2. Direct access
This method is used with magnetic disks and with optical media. The
computers uses a key field to calculate where data has been stored.
The it is able to access the data directly from the calculated position.
It is used in applications where access speed in vital.
When updating media which uses direct access, the new data is
written to the next available location and its position is calculated
using the built-in algorithm.
BACKING STORAGE MEDIA
1. Fixed hard disk
Fixed hard disk drives are available on all computers and the main method
used for data storage. On a PC this is usually a fixed hard disk with
read/write heads allowing data to be written to or read from the disk surface.
Advantages:
They have a very fast data transfer rate and fast access time to data.
They have very large memory capacities.
Disadvantages:
They can be fairly easily damaged.
They lack portability unless a portable hard disk drive is used.
BACKING STORAGE MEDIA
2. Portable hard disks drives
These devices work in much the same way as fixed hard disk drives but are usually connected to the
computer via a universal serial bus (USB) port and can be disconnected and used on different computers.
Uses:
Portable hard disks ncan be used as back-up systems to prevent lost data.
They can be used to transfer data, files and software between computers.
Advantages:
The data access time and data transfer rate is very fast.
They have large memory capacities.
Disadvantages:
As with fixed drives, a portable hard disk can be easily damaged if the user accidentally drops it or does
not shut it down.


BACKING STORAGE MEDIA
3. Floppy disk drives:
Floppy disks are still used on some computer systems. They consist of a thin disk of plastic which is
housed in a plastic case with a window where the disk can be accessed. As the disk rotates, a read/write
head is used to add or real data stored on the surface
Uses:
They are still used where small files need to be transferred/stored (e.g. word-processed documents).
Some older computer systems still make use of this method of storage.
Advantages:
Using a CD to store a small file (e.g. a word-processed document) is often regarded as wasteful
especially if CD-R is used.
It is a very simple technology. Floppy disk drives are also extremely low cost items to buy.
Disadvantages:
Floppy disks have a very low memory capacity when compared to CD/DVDs, for example.
Very few modern computers have floppy disk drives.
The data transfer rate is slow compared to more modern data storage devices.
Floppy disks are not very robust.
BACKING STORAGE MEDIA
4. Magnetic tapes:
A magnetic tape is a very thin strip of plastic which is coated in a magnetic layer.
Uses:
Magnetic tapes are used in applications where batch processing is used, for example in clearing
bank cheques, utility billing (gas, electricity, water) and producing pay slips. In these applications,
there is no need for any specific processing order and speed of data access is not important).
They are used as a back-up media since all the data needs to be stored.
Advantages:
They are generally less expensive than the quivalent-capacity hard disk.
It is a very robust technology.
The data transfer rate is fast.
Disadvantages:
Access time is very slow.
When updating, another tape is needed (i.e. original tape + tape with the changes produces an
updated tape).

BACKING STORAGE MEDIA
5. Optical storage media:
Optical storage devices, such as CD and DVD, all use optical (i.e. light) read/write
methods, unlike tapes and floppy/hard drive disks which are magnetic media. A laser
beam is used to write to and read from the optical media.
The CDs and DVDs are manufactured either from a single polycarbonate disk or
from two polycarbonate disks bonded together. A very thin layer of metal or organic
dye is used as the recording media. The big advantage of these storage is that they
are portable and can store large data files (e.g. films, music or multimedia files)
which would be too large for a floppy disk.

BACKING STORAGE MEDIA
6. CD-ROM and DVD-ROM:
CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs are read only memory (ROM), which means they cannot be written over and can
only be read.
Uses:
CD-ROMs are used by manufacturers to store music files and software, computer games and reference
software (such as an encyclopedia).
DVD-ROMs have much larger storage capacity than CD-ROMs and are used to store films. They are now
increasingly used to store computer data and ever-more sophisticated computer and arcade games.
Advantages:
They hold far more data than floppy disks, so one CD/DVD could replace several floppy disks in some
applications.
They are less expensive than hard disk drive systems.
Disadvantages:
The data transfer rate and data access time are slower than for hard disks.

BACKING STORAGE MEDIA
7. CD-RW and DVD-RW:
The letter R here means the disk is recordable once only and then it becomes a CD-ROM or
DVD-ROM.
Uses:
They are used for home recordings of music (CD-Rs) and films (DVD-Rs).
They are used to store data to be kept for later use or to be transferred to another computer.
They are used in applications where it is necessary to prevent the deletion or over-writing of
important data).
Advantages:
CD-Rs and DVD-Rs are cheaper than RW disks.
Once burned (and finalized), they are like ROM disks.
Disadvantages:
The can only be recorded once, so if an error occurs then the disk has to be thrown away.
Not all CD/DVD players can read CD-R/DVD-R

BACKING STORAGE MEDIA
8. DVD-RAM:
DVD-RAM is recent addition to the optical media group.
Uses:
DVD-RAMs are used in recording devices such as satellite receivers to allow simultaneous recording and playback.
They are used in camcorders to store films
Advantages:
DVD-RAMs have long life minimum life is estimated to be 30 years.
It is possible to do a re-write operation over 100,000 times, compared with the RW format which only allows about 1,000 re-writes.
Writing on DVD-RAMs is very reliable, as they have in-built verification software to ensure the accuracy of the data.
Access is very fast if the files are fairly small.
There is no need to finalise the disk.
They have a very large capacity (about 10 Gbyte if double-sided format is used).
They offer the ability to read data at the same times as data is being written.
Disadvantages
DVD-RAMs are not as compatible as R or RW format, as many systems will not recognize their format.
They are relatively expensive, costing about 4 times as much as a DVD-RW disk.
BACKING STORAGE MEDIA
9. Blu-ray disks
Blu-ray disks have the largest capacity of all the optical media available and go up to 100 Gbyte. The laser beam used is at the
blue/violet end of the spectrum, rather than red which is the colour of the lasers used in other optical media.
Uses:
Blu-ray disks are used in home video consoles.
PCs can use this technology for data storage or backing up hard drives.
They are used for storing and playing back films:1 high-definition film or two hours duration uses 25 Gbyte of memory .
Camcorders can use this media to store film footage.
Advantages:
The data transfer rate is very fast.
The data access speed is also greater then with other optical media.
They have a very large storage capacity, and so are ideal for storing high definition films.
Disadvantages:
The disks are realatively expensive.
At the time of writing, blu-ray systems still have encryption problems when used to store video.
BACKING STORAGE MEDIA
10. Solid state backing store:
Solid state technology is being developed to the point where solid state
drives will soon replace hard disk drives in laptop computers
They are similar to magnetic and optical media in that data is still stored as
1s and 0s. However, instead of changing the magnetic properties on the thin
film surface of a rotating disk. The 1s and 0s are stored in millions of
miniature transistors within the microchip: if the transistor conducts a
current, this is equipvalent to a 1, otherwise it is 0.
They consequently have no moving parts, consume much less power and
are the extremely robust.
Theyre used primarily as removable storage devices and are collectively
known as flash memory.
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11. Memory sticks/ pen drives:
Memory sticks/pen drives can store several Gbytes of data and use the solid state technology described
above. They are usually connected to a computer through the USB port and power to operate them is
drawn from the host computer. They are extremely small and very portable. Most operating systems
recognize these storage media, which means that no additional software is needed to operate them.
Uses
Memory sticks and pen drives are used for transporting files between computers or as a back-up store.
They are used as a security device a dongle to prevent software privacy.
Advantages
They are very compact and portable media.
They are vey robust.
Disadvantages
It is not possible to write protect the data and files.
Their small physical size means that they are easy to lose.



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12. Flash memory cards:
These are a form of electrically erasable programmable read only memory and are another example of solid state memories.
Uses
Flash memory cards are used to store photos on digital cameras.
Mobile phones use them as memory cards.
They are used in MP3 players to store music files.
They are used as a back-up in handheld computer devices.
Advantages
Flash memory cards are very compact, so they can be easily removed and used in another device or used for transferring photos directly to
a computer or printer.
Since they are solid state memories, they are very robust.
Disadvantages
They are expensive per Gbyte of memory when compared to hard drive disks.
They have to finite life in terms of the number of times they can be read from or written to.
They have a lower storage capacity than hard disks.