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Storaging

The document discusses the different levels of computer data storage including internal storage like registers and cache, primary storage like RAM, secondary storage like hard disks, tertiary storage which uses robotic mechanisms, and offline storage which requires human intervention to access.

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Rabin Koirala
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17 views3 pages

Storaging

The document discusses the different levels of computer data storage including internal storage like registers and cache, primary storage like RAM, secondary storage like hard disks, tertiary storage which uses robotic mechanisms, and offline storage which requires human intervention to access.

Uploaded by

Rabin Koirala
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Storage

Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, is a technology consisting of computer
components and recording media that are used to retain digital data. It is a core function and
fundamental component of computers. Without significant memory a computer would not be able to
perform operations and immediately output results.
The internal memories like Register, Cache, etc and primary memories like RAM (SRAM, DRAM) are
temporary storage. They are volatile memories, ie they do not retain contents when powered down.

Hierarchy of storage (In figure)


1. Internal Storage:
These memories are the only memories directly accessible to the CPU. They are:
 Processor registers: They are located inside the processor. Each register typically holds a word
of data (often 32 or 64 bits). CPU performs various calculations and other operation on the data
hold by registers directly. Registers are the fastest memory of all computer data storage.
 Processor cache: It is an intermediate stage between ultra-fast registers and slower main
memory. It is used to improve the performance of the computers. Most frequently used
informations in the main memory is copied in the cache memory, so that the access time to that
informations is much faster than main memory. Multiple level caches are also available
nowadays.

2. Primary Storage:
Main memory or primary storage is directly or indirectly connected to the CPU through a memory
buses; address and data bus. RAMs (static RAM and dynamic RAM) are used for primary storage
which are volatile. The small startup program (BIOS) are copied to RAM from non-volatile secondary
storage called ROM (read only memory) during power on of the computer. Some embedded systems
run programs directly from ROM because such programs are rarely changed.
3. Secondary Storage:
They are also known as external storage. They differs from primary storage because it is not directly
accessible by the CPU. CPU access secondary storage using primary storage. Secondary storage is non-
volatile, ie, it does not lose data when the device is power down. Hard disk drives are used as the
secondary storage. It is much slower to access data of secondary storage than the primary storage.
Some other examples of secondary storage are
 Optical drives ( CD, DVD)
 Flash memories (USB drives or pendrives, Memory cards, etc)
 Magnetic tapes
 Portable Hard drives
 Floppy disks
4. Tertiary Storage:
Tertiary storage provides a third level of storage. It involves robotic mechanism which will mount and
dismount removable mass storage media into a storage device according to the system’s demands. Such
data are ofter copied to secondary storage before use. It is slower than secondary storage. They are very
large data storages, accessed without human operators.
Cloud storages, Tape libraries, Visual archives, etc are examples of tertiary storages.
5. Off-line Storage
Off-line storage is a computer data storage on a medium or a device that is not under the control of a
processing unit. This medium may be secondary or tertiary storage devices which can be physically
disconnected, ie. they are portable. It must be inserted or connected to the computer by a human
operator before a computer can access it again.
Some of the examples of offline storages are portable hard disks, flash drives, optical drives, etc.

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