DATA STORAGE

Primary Memory

● Directly accessible by the CPU

● Contains RAM, ROM, and Cache Memory
● Can be found on the motherboard
● Allows CPU to access applications and services temporarily stored in memory locations

Random Access Memory (RAM)

● Volatile/temporary memory - if turned off contents are lost
● Used to store data/programs that are currently in use
● Can be written to or read from and contents of the memory can be changed
● Larger the size of the RAM, faster the computer will operate
● Includes the operating system, the software in use (photoshop, excel, chrome), data
which the software is using (cookies, graphics)
● RAM is used to store currently used programs because its much faster to retrieve
instructions from RAM than hard drive since its directly accessible by CPU
● As RAM becomes full, the processor has to continually access the hard drive to
overwrite old data on RAM with new data

Read Only Memory (ROM)

● It can’t be written to - only holds data can be read
● Holds the instructions that are needed for a computer to start up once power is switched
on
● These instructions are known as the BIOS (Basic Input Output System)
● Non volatile - data isn’t lost when power is lost

Secondary Storage
● Computer’s long term memory, it stores the user’s files and programs whilst they are not
being used
● All applications, the OS, device drivers and general files are stored in this
● Non volatile

Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

● Magnetic storage
● Uses: Personal computers, laptops, backups
● Data is stored on circular magnetic surfaces called platters
● Read/write heads can access all of the surfaces on the disk
● Each platter will have 2 surfaces which can be used to store data
● Stored on the surfaces in sectors and tracks
● Very slow data access compared to RAM due to latency

− It has platters
− Platters/disk divided into tracks
− Platter/disk is spun
− Has a read/write arm that moves across storage media
− Read/writes data using electromagnets
− Uses magnetic fields to control magnetic dots of data
− Magnetic field determines binary value

● Latency - When data is accessed from a hard drive the read write head will constantly
look for the correct blocks of data, as the disk is also constantly spinning it means that
the head will have to be constantly moving and cannot have constant access to the data.

● Advantages:
○ Cheap Disadvantages:
○ Can store large amounts of data There are a
○ Have relatively fast write speed lot of mechanical
parts (which can
break)
Not very
Solid State Drives (SSD) portable
● No moving parts
● Uses: mobile devices and additional PC storage
● Data is stored by controlling the movement of electrons within NAND chips, as
● 1s and 0s in millions of transistors in NAND chips
● Non volatile rewritable memory
● SSDs and NAND chips are called flash storage
● Read/write process is a lot faster than with HDDs
● Benefits of using SSD rather than HDD:
○ More reliable (no moving parts)
○ Considerably lighter (suitable for laptops)
○ Lower power consumption
○ Run much cooler than HDDs
○ Very thin
○ Data access is faster than HDD
● Disadvantages:
○ More expensive
○ Less storage capacity
DIFFERENCES

Offline Storage
● Any data storage device that can hold data and is not permanently connected to
a computer
● Good for backing up data and transporting data from one device to another

Optical Storage - CD / DVD / BluRay

● Reads and writes data using lasers and light

● To read from the disk a laser is shone at the tracks of the disk.
● The laser will reflect from the track and direct the reflected light into a sensor.
● The intensity of the reflected light will determine whether it is interpreted as a 1 or
a 0.
● If the laser hits a pit, the light does not reach the sensor and is recorded as a 1, if
the light hits a land, it will reflect into the sensor and is recorded as a 0.

● Blue ray has a much larger storage capacity as it uses a blue laser with a much
smaller wavelength. This results in smaller pits and lands being burned which in
turn allows for more pits and lands to fit on the same size disk.
 ● DVDs also use a smaller laser than CDs, however they also use multiple layers.
Therefore there are two data holding layers that can have bits and lands burned
on them. For this to work the red laser has to be set to focus differently
depending on which layer it is trying to read / write.

Optical Storage pros:

● Cheap
● Very portable
● Take up little physical space
Cons:
● Low storage capacity
● Easily damaged (scratches)
● Slow write speed

USB flash memories

● Very small, lightweight suitable from transferring files
● Small back-up devices for photo, music
● Solid state so need to be treated with care

Virtual Memory
● Virtual memory is created when a computer temporarily uses secondary storage
(a hard disk) to act as RAM.
● Pages of data transferred btw RAM and virtual memory when needed

● Some files and programs are simply too big to fit into the RAM available.
● E.g. when creating videos and large graphics or when you have too many files or
programs open at once
● Operating system will use virtual memory (your hard drive) when the physical
RAM in a computer system is not sufficient to cope with the files and applications
currently in use.
● Virtual memory will allow you to continue multitasking and accessing large files
despite your RAM being limited or full.

Benefits:
- Enables more applications to be used at once
- Frees applications from managing shared memory and saves users from having
to add additional memory when RAM runs out
- Increased security - memory isolation
- Enables multiple larger applications to run simultaneously
- Inexpensive
Drawbacks
- Secondary storage cannot directly access the CPU so data will constantly need
to be swapped between RAM (primary memory) and the virtual memory space
on the hard drive.
- This is extra work for the computer, so not ideal and may affect performance.

● It prevents the computer system crashing when RAM is full

● Data that needs to be accessed by the CPU directly is switched by the operating
system from virtual memory into RAM and an inactive page from RAM replaces it
in virtual memory. This is called page switching

Cloud Storage
- Cloud computing is storing data on remote servers over the Internet
- Same data is stored on more than on server in case of maintenance or repair
allowing clients to access data at anytime anywhere w/ an internet connection
- Known as data redundancy
- Physical server owned and managed by hosting company and may include
hundreds of servers in many locations
Benefits
● Data can be accessed at any time from any device anywhere in world provided
internet connection is available
● No need for user to carry same computer or external storage device to retrieve
files
● Cloud system offers almost unlimited storage capacity
● Cloud storage providers often use multiple servers to store and backup data,
reducing the risk of data loss due to hardware failure
● Cloud storage providers offer advanced security features, such as data
encryption and multi-factor authentication multi-factor authentication, to protect
user data from unauthorised access

Drawbacks
● Slow or unstable internet connection = problems accessing files
● Costs can be high if large storage capacity required
● Potential failure of cloud storage company possible meaning loss of all backup
data
● Data being sent over the internet has the potential to be intercepted