Bulacan State University

College of Information and Communications Technology

City of Malolos, Bulacan

GROUP REPORT IN
PLATFORM TECHNOLOGIES (IT 208)
BSIT 2-Q

ASSIGNED TOPICS:
• Primary Storage Devices
o ROM, RAM, DRAM, SRAM, BIOS, Cache Memory, Virtual Memory
• Secondary Storage Devices
- Hard Disk Drives (HDD)
- Solid-State Drives (SSD)
- External HDDs and SSDs
- Flash Memory Devices
- Optical Storage Devices
- Floppy Disks
• Disk Storage Concepts
• Memory Management
• Other Related Topics

REPORTED BY: GROUP 3

Leader: ROMANTICO, LOUIS IAN S.
Members: 1. CRUZ, JOHN IVAN.
2. CRUZ, MICHAEL P.
3. DELA CRUZ, BRIAN J.
4. HERMOSURA, JOHN PAULO P.
5. MICIANO, JOHN ERNEST R.
Submitted to:

FAUSTO S. HILARIO
Subject Professor
 TYPES OF STORAGE DEVICES,
FUNCTIONALITIES, CHARACTERISTICS AND
COMPONENT PARTS

• PRIMARY STORAGE DEVICES

•ROM, RAM, DRAM, SRAM, BIOS, CACHE MEMORY, VIRTUAL MEMORY

Primary storage is a key component of a computer system that enables it to function.

Primary storage includes Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM),
Cache memory and the Flash memory. then we have (SRAM) Static Random-Access
Memory and (DRAM) Dynamic Random Access Memory. They are both types of
(RAM). Each of these have different and important uses within the computer
 ROM (READ ONLY MEMORY)
• (ROM) or Read-only memory, it is a type of non-volatile memory used in
computers and other electronic devices. the Data that was stored in ROM cannot
be electronically modified after the manufacture of the memory device. Read-only
memory is useful for storing software that is rarely changed during the life of the
system,

• ROM can be read from but not written to, hence the term read only. This makes
ROM ideal for storing instructions and data that are needed for the computer to
run. These instructions and data are usually programmed by the computer's
manufacturer and cannot be overwritten.

• (ROM) provides permanent storage for instructions needed during bootstrapping,

or the process of turning on the computer. It does so by storing the BIOS and
other firmware for the computer hardware. This firmware is very hardware-
specific and rarely needs updating.
ROM also contains the basic instructions for what needs to happen when a
computer is powered on. This is typically referred to as the firmware of a
computer. The firmware represents the basic code to get the computer started.
Once the computer is up and running, the CPU takes over.

• ROM plays a critical part in booting up, or starting up, your computer. So, what
exactly happens? how does ROM work during bootstrapping? When you press
the power button, the BIOS chip awakens and checks the various components of
the computer to make sure they are all present and working correctly.
 TYPES OF ROM
PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory)

PROM or Programmable Read Only Memory, is a type of ROM which is manufactured

as blank memory, such as in a CD-ROM. Data is written after manufacturing.

• PROM is a computer memory chip that can be programmed once after it is

created. Once the PROM is programmed, the information written is permanent
and cannot be erased or deleted. PROM was first developed by Wen Tsing
Chow in 1956. An example of a PROM is a computer BIOS in early computers.
Today, PROM in computers has been replaced by EEPROM.

• Standard PROM can only be programmed once. This is because PROM chips
are manufactured with a series of fuses. The chip is programmed by burning
fuses, which is an irreversible process. The open fuses are read as ones, while
the burned fuses are read as zeros. By burning specific fuses, a binary pattern of
ones and zeros is imprinted on the chip. This pattern represents the program
applied to the ROM.
 EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only
Memory)

EPROM or Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory is a ROM chip that can be

erased by exposing the chip to high-intensity ultraviolet rays. EPROM can then be
reprogrammed.

• Just like the ROM, The EPROM chip that does not lose data even when the
power is switched off. This is a non-volatile memory type. Each EPROM is
individually programmed by an electronic device. After that, the data can be
erased by exposing the EPROM to strong ultraviolet light. The UV light clears the
data on the chip so that it can reprogram. For writing and erasing data on the
EPROM, we need a particular device which is known as PROM programmer.
The process of programming an EPROM is often called BURNING, and the box
into which it is plugged to program it an EPROM burner.
•
• Data can be extracted from the EPROM by decoding the address at the address
pins and then connecting it to the output buffers. The programming process in
EPROM is not reversible electrically. Ultraviolet light is used to cause ionization
within the oxide which allows the stored charge to dissipate and the memory is
also deleted. The data on EPROM can be erased a limited number of times
because excessive erasing damages the silicon dioxide layer and it makes the
use of chip unreliable. The programming process on EPROM is not electrically
reversible.

• EPROM was the replacement for ROM (Read-Only Memory) and PROM
(Programmable Read-Only Memory), and it was developed to overcome the
disadvantages of ROM and PROM.
 EEPROM (Electrically Erasable
Programmable Read-Only Memory)

EEPROM or Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory stands

for electrically erasable programmable read-only memory and is a type of non-volatile
memory used in computers, integrated in micro controllers for smart cards and remote
keyless systems, and other electronic devices to store relatively small amounts of data
by allowing individual bytes to be erased and reprogrammed.

• EEPROM data can be erased electrically using field electron emission, also
known as Fowler–Nordheim tunneling, an easier process than the one used in
EPROM. EEPROM generally offers excellent capabilities and performance.
EEPROM can then be reprogrammed approximately 10,000 times.

The client/user can change the quality of certain units without expecting to erase
the programming on different cells. Consequently, areas of data might be erased
and replaced without expecting to adjust whatever rest of the chip programming.
Data saved in an EEPROM chip is permanent, until the client chooses to delete
and replace the data that it contains. The information saved in an EEPROM chip
is not lost even when power is turned off. Here only one external power supply
device is used. Write and erase operation are performed on byte basis.

There are many types of EEPROM devices available, but one of the most
commonly used EEPROM families is 24CXX series devices such as 24C02,
24C04, 24C08 and more. they all have same features but only difference is in its
memory.
 MROM (MASK ROM)
Mask ROM or MROM is a type of ROM whose contents can be programmed only by an
integrated circuit manufacturer

(masked Read-Only-Memory) A memory chip that is manufactured with its contents.

The term is used to refer to a ROM "chip" in contrast to the ROM "category," which also
includes PROMs and EPROMs. The term may also be used to differentiate
manufactured ROM chips from user-programmable memories such as PROMs and
FPGAs or field-programmable gate array
 RAM (Random Access Memory)
The researchers point out that most computer users assume that switching off their
machine removes any data held in random access memory (RAM), this type of fast
memory is used by the computer to temporarily hold data currently used by a given
application. RAM is often referred to as volatile memory, because anything contained in
RAM is considered lost when a computer is switched off. Indeed, all data is lost from
RAM when the power supply is disconnected, so it is volatile in this context.

if there is a power failure. a backup Uninterruptible Power System (UPS) is often used
with computers. RAM is small, both in terms of its physical size and in the amount of
data it can hold.

A typical laptop computer may come with 8 gigabytes of RAM, while a hard disk can
hold 10 terabytes.

The amount of RAM needed all depends on what the user is doing. When video editing,
for example, it's recommended that a system have at least 16 GB RAM, though more is
desirable. For photo editing using Photoshop, Adobe recommends a system have at
least 3GB of RAM to run Photoshop CC on a Mac. However, if the user is working with
other applications at the same time, even 8GB of RAM can slow things down.

Random Access Memory or RAM in a mobile phone is very important and the higher the
RAM in a cell phone, the faster the mobile cell phone will operate.

RAM is a very fast responding memory that can be quickly erased and new data written
on it. All applications to be executed on a phone is first loaded on to the RAM from the
main storage memory of the phone.

The main memory of a phone is slow and it cannot execute programs on the phone fast
enough, So the phones Operating System, like iOS or Android controls the RAM and
decides on the timing of loading into the RAM of what is required in the next few milli-
seconds while a phones App is being executed, and loads those programs from the
slow loading memory into the fast RAM ready to execute when required. As soon as the
RAM executes that part of the App, fresh memory required for the next few milliseconds
are loaded on to the RAM and the old executed portions are erased from the RAM.
 TWO TYPES OF RAM

DRAM (DYNAMIC RANDOM-ACCESS MEMORY)

SRAM (STATIC RANDOM-ACCESS MEMORY)

SRAM

DRAM

DRAM (Dynamic Random-Access Memory) and SRAM (Static Random-Access

Memory) are types of Random-Access Memory (RAM). RAM is a semiconductor device
internal to the integrated chip that stores the processor that a microcontroller or other
processor will use constantly to store variables used in operations while performing
calculations. RAM refers to the hardware that provides the memory locations referred to
in software as registers. As of this writing, all commonly used RAM is volatile, which
means that everything in volatile memory is lost when power is removed. You can think
of RAM as working memory where variables are stored while the CPU performs
calculations. RAM is much faster to access than external memory and is a critical
component to the speed of the processor chip.

The architectural difference between the two is that DRAM uses transistors and
capacitors in an array of repeating circuits (where each circuit is one bit), whereas
SRAM uses several transistors in a circuit to form one bit.
BIOS (BASIC INPUT OUTPUT SYSTEM)
- BIOS or Basic Input/output System, the BIOS is a ROM chip found on
motherboards that allows you to access and set up your computer system
at the most basic level.

- The BIOS includes instructions on how to load basic computer hardware.

It also includes a test referred to as a POST (Power-On Self-Test) that
helps verify the computer meets requirements to boot up properly. If the
computer does not pass the POST, you hear a combination of beeps
indicating what is malfunctioning in the computer.
 FOUR MAIN FUNCTIONS OF BIOS

POST - Test the computer hardware and make sure no errors exist before loading the
operating system. Additional information on the POST is available on our POST and
beep codes page.

Bootstrap Loader - Locate the operating system. If a capable operating system is

located, the BIOS will pass control to it.

BIOS drivers - Low-level drivers that give the computer basic operational control over
your computer's hardware.

BIOS setup or CMOS setup - Configuration program that allows you to configure
hardware settings including system settings, such as date, time, and computer
passwords

CACHE MEMORY
- is a special very high-speed memory. It is used to speed up and synchronizing with
high-speed CPU. Cache memory is costlier than main memory or disk memory but
economical than CPU registers. Cache memory is an extremely fast memory type that
acts as a buffer between RAM and the CPU. It holds frequently requested data and
instructions so that they are immediately available to the CPU when needed.

-Cache memory is used to reduce the average time to access data from the Main
memory. The cache is a smaller and faster memory which stores copies of the data
from frequently used main memory locations. There are various different independent
caches in a CPU, which store instructions and data.
 DIFFERENT LEVEL CATEGORIES
L1 cache is generally built into the processor chip and is the smallest in size, ranging
from 8KB to 64KB. However, it's also the fastest type of memory for the CPU to read.
Multi-core CPUs will generally have a separate L1 cache for each core.

L2 and L3 caches are larger than L1, but take longer to access. L2 cache is
occasionally part of the CPU, but often a separate chip between the CPU and the RAM.
and It is the fastest memory which has faster access time where data is temporarily
stored for faster access.

Graphics processing units (GPUs) often have a separate cache memory to the CPU,
which ensures that the GPU can still speedily complete complex rendering operations
without relying on the relatively high-latency system RAM.

VIRTUAL MEMORY

Virtual memory is a feature of an operating system that enables a computer to be able

to compensate shortages of physical memory by transferring pages of data from
random access memory to disk storage.

This process is done temporarily and is designed to work as a combination of RAM and
space on the hard disk.

This means that when RAM runs low, virtual memory can move data from it to a space
called a paging file. This process allows for RAM to be freed up so that a computer can
complete the task.

Occasionally a user might be shown a message that says the virtual memory is running
low, this means that either more RAM needs to be added, or the size of the paging file
needs to be increased.
Due to move virtual memory into physical memory, operating system splits own memory
into different blocks with fixed number of addresses, and those blocks are known as
“Page files or Swap files”. All pages are reserved in the hard disk, and OS moves it from
hard disk to primary memory, when they are needed, and finally virtual addresses are
translated into real addresses.

Main objective of needing is virtual memory is to increase the storage space of running
memory, without adding any external memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory).

If, any time computer’s physical memory is totally occupied for other programs, but
same time it needs to some extra memory then requests are forwarded to hard disk for
swapping files like as virtual memory.

If, any time computer requires the extra more main memory (RAM), then it try to install
in the machine, and it works as small area of disk for fulfill system needs. Virtual
Memory is managed with two techniques such as Paging and Segmentation.
 PAGING AND SEGMENTATION

Paging

In this way, memory is spited into different small blocks with near about 4 KB in size,
and these blocks are known as Paging Files.

The paging is enabled with using the page table, which is help out to translate the virtual
addresses for using operating system and other running other applications, and they
use those addresses into physical addresses which are used by MMU

Segmentation

Main objective of using the Segmentation is to handle the virtual memory. In this
process, virtual memory is divided into various different segments. But these segments
are not used into memory because those segments are transferred in the virtual
memory on hard drive. Segment table keeps all records of entire information of whole
segments
 HDD
(Hard Disk Drive) or (Fixed Disk)

is an electro-mechanical data storage 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. 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. Modern HDDs are typically in the form of a
small rectangular box.
Introduced by IBM in 1956,

OLDER VERSION OF HDD

NEWER VERSION OF HDD

 SSD
(SOLID STATE DRIVE)

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, even though SSDs lack the physical spinning disks and
movable read–write heads used in hard disk drives (HDDs) and floppy disks.

The first commercial flash-based SSD was shipped by SanDisk in 1991. It was a 20 MB
SSD in a PCMCIA configuration, and sold OEM for around $1,000 and was used by
IBM in a ThinkPad laptop.
 External HDD & SDD-FLASH MEMOR

External HDD
(External Hard Disk Drive)

An external hard drive is a piece of equipment that can be connected to your computer
to increase its storage space

Unlike the hard drive that's installed in your computer, an external hard drive is portable
and can also be used to store files from multiple devices.

External hard drives are easy to use, convenient, and an incredibly safe way to back up
your most important files.
 External SDD
(External Solid State Drive)

A device that easily and securely transport large quantities of data. It is durable,
convenient and universally compatible with almost any system.

According to Micron Technology, their product Crucial X8 a portable SSD is 7.5x faster
than portable HDD. It's performance speed up to 1050 mb per seconds.
Data storage medium used with computers and other electronic devices. Also known as
Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM)

TYPES OF FLASH MEMORY

NOR flash memory is executed into XIP Memory, that means all programs and
instructions are saved into NOR flash, and these programs are executed itself with
using of NOR flash without accessing any copied data into Main Memory.
NAND flash is best option to access much such as block devices, like as Hard Disk. If
you need to higher data storage capacity, then NAND flash memory is a great selection
for you.
 Four types of Flash Memory as per User
Requirements:

1. TRADITIONAL FLASH STORAGE

In the traditional flash storage, we used the HDD storage techniques, and this technique
delivers the cost-effective capacity so due to that, users have flexibility to scale this
system.

2. SERVER FLASH MEMORY

Server Flash Memory prefers the cache storage capacity because it allows to users
access data with higher speed along with lower storage capacity.

3. THE ALL FLASH ARRAY

All Flash Array contains the best consistent storage capacity. It works as the solid state
storage because it allows to multiple flash memory drivers, instead of spinning the hard
disk drives

4. HYBRID ARRAY FLASH

Hybrid Array flash memory is known as the Intelligent Caching Solution. It delivers you
sub millisecond access for cached data, and it leverages HHD storage capacity. Hybrid
array needs the higher workload. Mostly, experts trust that could soon become a
popular option.
 COMMON FLASH MEMORY

1.USB (UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS)

USB Flash Drive – USB flash drive is also known as USB thumb drive, USB stick or
Pen drive. It is light weight portable storage device, and it is used as “Plug and Play.”
 2.CF (COMPACT FLASH)
Compact Flash is also a different type of flash memory. but this memory is mostly
preferred in the digital cameras for holding images. It is used also other devices like as
portable music players.

3. MEMORY CARD
Memory card is also known as “Flash Memory Card” and it is storage medium of
different types of data such as images, video or text. Memory card is mostly used into
several devices such as digital camcorders, handheld computers, MP3 players, printer,
digital cameras and more.
 4. NVME (NON-VOLATILE MEMORY EXPRESS)
NVME stands for “Non-Volatile Memory Express”, and it is used as host controller
interface and storage protocol for flash and next generation SSDs which provides the
higher throughput and fastest response times for different types of enterprise workloads.
 Advantages of Flash Memory

There are several benefits of flash memory, such as:

• It saves all data when power is getting turn off.

• Higher speed of read and write than traditional memory.
• Smaller size
• Portability
• Consume less power compare to traditional memory.
• Low chances to damage
• Lesser price to traditional drives
• It does not contain any moveable parts.
• Work more quietly compare to physical hard drive
 OPTICAL STORAGE DEVICES

Optical storage devices in the optical storage devices, all read and write activities are
performed by light. All recording information stores 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. In the optical storage devices, all data is saved like
as patterns of dots which can be easily read with using of LIGHT. Laser Beam is used
like as “Light Source”.

The data is read while bouncing laser beam on the surface of storage medium. Laser
beam creates the all Dots while reading process, but it is used with high power mode to
mark the surface of storage medium, and make a dot. This entire process is also called
the “Burning” data onto Disc.

Types of Optical Storage Devices CD-ROM stands for “Compact Disc Read Only
Memory”, and CD-ROM comes in the “Random Access” category’s devices. These
types of disc can capable to store almost 800 MB of digital data. These data can’t
discard by mistaken. DVD - ROM DVD-ROM stands for “Digital Versatile Disc – Read
Only Memory”, and it also comes in the “Random Access” category’s devices. DVD-
ROM discs can store data up to 4.7 GB, but Dual Layer DVD device’s storage capacity
is double. These types of disc are used to store ultra-quality video. Blue Ray Blue Ray
discs are totally replaced by DVDs, because these discs are capable to hold data up to
25-50 GB, as well as double layer Blue Rays discs can store double data. Due to high
storage capacity, Blue Ray discs are used to store HD (High Definition) videos. HD DVD
HD DVD stands for “High Density DVD”, and these devices are capable to store data up
to 15 GB (Dual Layer HD DVDS have storage capacity double).

High-Density DVD discs are also used to hold HD Videos. DVD-RAM stands for “DVD-
Random Access Memory”, and it is able to Re-Write data. DVD-RAM are available in
market like as floppy-disc style case. These types of discs have storage capacity of data
similar to DVD (up to 4.7 GB). DVD-RAM devices are used in several Camcorders such
as “Video Recording Cameras”, and it can be used for data back-up and archiving.
Recordable Optical Devices CD-R & DVD-R Full form of (CD-R & DVD-R) is “CD-
Recordable and DVD Recordable”, and they are able to burn data on to them, but not
easy to delete data. Users can add any type of data, but they can’t discard added data
or re-use fully disc. CD-RW & DVD-RW CD-RW & DVD-RW stands for “CD-Re Writable
and DVD-Re Writable”, and they are capable to burn data similar (CD-R and DVD-R)
onto them. Users can also delete and Re-Used data.
 FLOPPY DISK
Floppy disk, or diskette, magnetic storage medium used with late 20th-century
computers. Floppy disks were popular from the 1970s until the late 1990s, when they
were supplanted by the increasing use of e-mail attachments and other means to
transfer files from computer to computer. History of the floppy disks Floppy disks were
an almost universal data format from the 1970s into the 1990s, used for primary data
storage as well as for backup and data transfers between computers. In 1967, at an
IBM facility in San Jose (CA), work began on a drive that led to the world's first floppy
disk and disk drive.

It was introduced into the market in an 8-inch (20 cm) format in 1972. The more
conveniently sized 5 1⁄4-inch (13 cm) disks were introduced in 1976, and became
almost universal on dedicated word processing systems and personal computers.

This format was more slowly replaced by the 3 1⁄2-inch (9 cm) format, first introduced in
1982. There was a significant period where both were popular.

A number of other variant sizes were introduced over time, with limited market success.
Floppy disks remained a popular medium for nearly 40 years, but their use was
declining by the mid- to late 1990s.

The introduction of high-speed computer networking and formats based on the new
NAND flash technique (like USB flash drives and memory cards) led to the eventual
disappearance of the floppy disk as a standard feature of microcomputers. with a
notable point in this conversion being the introduction of the floppy-less iMac in 1998.
After 2000, floppy disks were increasingly rare and used primarily with older hardware
and especially with legacy industrial computer equipment.

The 8-inch disk is a read-only, 8-inch-diameter (200 mm) flexible diskette called the
"memory disk" and holding 80 kilobytes of data. Initially the disk was bare, but dirt
became a serious problem so they enclosed it in a plastic envelope lined with fabric that
would remove dust particles.

The Floppy Disk Patent #3,668,658 was issued on June 6, 1972 with named inventors
Ralph Flores and Herbert E. Thompson.

The Floppy Disk Drive Patent #3,678,481 was issued July 18, 1972 with named
inventors Warren L. Dalziel, Jay. B. Nilson, and Donald L. Wartner. IBM introduced the
diskette commercially in 1971. The 5¼ inch mini-floppy A double-density 5 1⁄4-inch
(133 mm) disk with a partly exposed magnetic medium spun about a central hub. The
cover has a cloth liner to brush dust from the medium. Note the “write-enable slot” to the
upper right and the hole next to the hub that gives access to the index hole in the disk.
The new drive of this size stored 98.5 KB, later increased to 110 KB by adding five
tracks. The 5 1⁄4-inch (133 mm) drive was considerably less expensive than 8-inch
drives, and soon started appearing on CP/M machines. The "Twiggy" disk During the
development of the Apple Lisa, Apple developed a disk format codenamed Twiggy, and
officially known as File-ware. While basically similar to a standard 5+1⁄4-inch disk, the
Twiggy disk had an additional set of write windows on the top of the disk with the label
running down the side. The drive was also present in prototypes of the original Apple
Macintosh computer, but was removed in both the Mac and later versions of the Lisa in
favor of the 3+1⁄2-inch floppy disk from Sony. The drives were notoriously unreliable
and Apple was criticized for needlessly diverging from industry standards. The 3 inch
compact floppy disks The 3-inch BRG MCD-1 developed in 1973 by Marcell Jánosi, a
Hungarian inventor of Budapest Radio-technic Company. The 3-inch floppy drive itself
was manufactured by Hitachi, Matsushita and Maxell. Only Teac outside this "network"
is known to have produced drives. Similarly, only three manufacturers of media (Maxell,
Matsushita and Tatung) are known (sometimes also branded Yamaha, Amsoft,
Panasonic, Schneider, Tandy, Godexco and Dixons), but "no-name" disks with
questionable quality have been seen in circulation. Amstrad included a 3-inch single-
sided, double-density (180 KB) drive in their CPC and some models of PCW. The PCW
8512 included a double-sided, quad-density (720 KB) drive as the second drive, and
later models, such as the PCW 9512, used quad-density even for the first drive. The
single-sided double density (180 KB) drive was "inherited" by the ZX Spectrum +3
computer after Amstrad bought the rights from Sinclair. The Oric-1 and Atmos systems
from Oric International also used the 3-inch floppy drives, originally shipping with the
Atmos, but also supported on the older Oric-1.

Mitsumi's "Quick Disk" 3-inch floppies Another 3-inch (75 mm) format was Mitsumi's
Quick Disk format. The Quick Disk format is referred to in various size references: 2.8-
inch, 3-inch×3-inch and 3-inch×4-inch. Mitsumi offered this as OEM equipment,
expecting their VAR customers to customize the packaging for their own particular use;
disks thus

vary in storage capacity and casing size. The Quick Disk uses a 2.8-inch magnetic
media, break-off write-protection tabs (one for each side), and contains a see-through
hole near center spindle (used to ensure spindle clamping). Nintendo packaged the 2.8-
inch magnetic media in a 3-inch×4-inch housing, while others packaged the same
media in a 3 inch×3 inch square housing.

The 3½ inch, In 1981, Sony introduced their 3+1⁄2-inch floppy disk cartridge (90.0 mm ×
94.0 mm) having a single sided unformatted capacity of 218.8 KB and a formatted
capacity of 161.2 KB. A double-sided version was available in 1982. This initial Sony
design was similar to other less than 5+1⁄4-inch designs but somewhat simpler in
construction. The first computer to use this format was Sony's SMC 70[58] of 1982.
Other than Hewlett-Packard's HP-150 of 1983 and Sony's MSX computers that year,
this format suffered from a similar fate as the other new formats; the 5+1⁄4-inch format
simply had too much market share.

The term "3+1⁄2-inch" or "3.5-inch" disk is and was rounded from the 90 mm actual
dimension of one side of the rectangular cartridge. The actual disk diameter is 85.8
millimeters (3.38 in).

DISK STORAGE
Concepts. In Disk storage, also many types and methods have evolved over a period.
Block Storage: Data is stored in “logical blocks” these blocks are smallest units of
storage with addresses attached to them in any storage subsystem. Disk level
read/write operations can be used for block storage and block storage access
 CLOUD STORAGE
Cloud Storage Cloud storage is simply offsite computing that holds your data for you to
access anytime, anywhere. The idea of cloud computing in the form of an “intergalactic
computer network” was introduced in 1969 and has seen big milestones since, noted
Computer Weekly.
Server Based (Hyper-Convergence) or hyper-
convergence storage

is data stored within individual servers at a data center, typically on your

business site. Businesses with the budget for it can appreciate their speed
and in-house control. With hyper-convergence, you have different servers
and your data is striped across them.
 TRADITIONAL STORAGE SYSTEM
is commonly used as a backup method for the cloud. For security purposes, it can be
usually only be accessed while signed onto the Internet connection of which it’s stored.
It would show up on your computer as a separate area network you might see an e, f or
g drive on your computer. “It’s easy to manage and people are very used to it,” said
Howard. “You dump your storage on it and that’s it. If people need more storage, you
add more discs. The discs can be deleted, overwritten, and duplicated as needed.”

MEMORY MANAGEMENT
Changing trends in technologies, notably cheaper and faster memory, have
made it worthwhile to revisit many hardware-oriented design decisions made in previous
decades. Hardware-oriented designs, in which one uses special-purpose hardware to
perform some dedicated function, are a response to a high cost of executing
instructions out of memory; when caches are expensive, slow or in scarce supply, it is a
perfectly reasonable to use hardware that do not compete with user applications for
cache space and do not rely on the performance of the caches. In contrast, when the
caches are large enough to withstand competition between the application and
operating system, the cost of executing operating system functions out of the memory
subsystem decreases significantly and software-oriented designs become manageable.
 • WHAT IS MEMORY MANAGEMENT?
Memory management is the functionality of an operating system which handles or
manages primary memory and moves processes back and forth between main
memory and disk during execution. Memory management keeps track of each and
every memory location, regardless of either it is allocated to some process or it is
free. It checks how much memory is to be allocated to processes. It decides which
process will get memory at what time. It tracks whenever some memory gets freed
or unallocated and correspondingly it updates the status.

The operating system takes care of mapping the logical addresses to physical
addresses at the time of memory allocation to the program. There are three types of
addresses used in a program before and after memory is allocated.

Under Memory Management, we have the so-called Memory Addresses. They are as
follows:

1 Symbolic addresses
The addresses used in a source code. The variable names,
constants, and instruction labels are the basic elements of the
symbolic address space.

2 Relative addresses
At the time of compilation, a compiler converts symbolic
addresses into relative addresses.

3 Physical addresses
The loader generates these addresses at the time when a
program is loaded into main memory.
The set of all logical addresses generated by a program is referred to as a logical
address space. The set of all physical addresses corresponding to these logical
addresses is referred to as a physical address space.

• To distinguish STATIC vs DYNAMIC loading here it is:

At the time of loading, with static loading, the absolute program (and data) is loaded
into memory in order for execution to start.

If you are using dynamic loading, dynamic routines of the library are stored on a disk
in relocatable form and are loaded into memory only when they are needed by the
program.

• When it comes to Static vs Dynamic Linking:

As explained above, when static linking is used, the linker combines all other modules
needed by a program into a single executable program to avoid any runtime
dependency.

When dynamic linking is used, it is not required to link the actual module or library with
the program, rather a reference to the dynamic module is provided at the time of
compilation and linking. Dynamic Link Libraries (DLL) in Windows and Shared Objects
in Unix are good examples of dynamic libraries.

• Swapping
Swapping is a mechanism in which a process can be swapped temporarily out of main
memory (or move) to secondary storage (disk) and make that memory available to other
processes. At some later time, the system swaps back the process from the secondary
storage to main memory.

• Memory Allocation
Main memory usually has two partitions:

Low Memory − Operating system resides in this memory.

High Memory − User processes are held in high memory.

 • Fragmentation
As processes are loaded and removed from memory, the free memory space is broken
into little pieces. It happens after sometimes that processes cannot be allocated to
memory blocks considering their small size and memory blocks remains unused. This
problem is known as Fragmentation.

• Paging
A computer can address more memory than the amount physically installed on the
system. This extra memory is actually called virtual memory and it is a section of a hard
that's set up to emulate the computer's RAM. Paging technique plays an important role
in implementing virtual memory.

• Segmentation
Segmentation is a memory management technique in which each job is divided into
several segments of different sizes, one for each module that contains pieces that
perform related functions. Each segment is actually a different logical address space of
the program.

When a process is to be executed, its corresponding segmentation are loaded into non-
contiguous memory though every segment is loaded into a contiguous block of available
memory.

Segmentation memory management works very similar to paging but here segments
are of variable-length where as in paging pages are of fixed size.