Chapter 5: Memory Organization

5.1 Secondary memory

It is also called auxiliary memory. It stores information that is not necessarily in current use. It is
slower and having higher capacity than primary memory. This kind of memory is large, slow and
inexpensive. It is non-volatile storage media i.e. the contents are not erased when the power is
switched off. Magnetic tape, floppy disk, hard disk and optical disk are the examples of secondary
storage.
5.2 Magnetic Disk
Commonly used direct-access secondary storage device. It is a thin, circular plate made of metal &
plastic, which is coated with iron-oxide. We can randomly access the data. Magnetic disks can also
be erased & reused indefinitely. They must be stored in dust free environment. It stores large amount
of data. The magnetic disks come in different sizes. Due to large storage capacity of magnetic disks
and lesser failures the use of these devices increasing day by day. There are two types of Magnetic
Disks:
1. Floppy Disk
2. Hard Disk
More suitable than magnetic tapes for a wider range of applications because they support direct
access of data. Due to their low cost and high data recording densities, the cost per it of storage is
low for magnetic disks. An additional cost benefit is that magnetic disks can be erased and reused
many times. Suitable for both on-line and off-line storage of data. Floppy disks are compact and light
in weight. Hence they are easy to handle and store. Very large amount of data can be stored in a small
storage space. Data transfer rate for a magnetic disk system is normally higher than a tape system
5.2.1 Floppy Disk
It is a portable, inexpensive, storage medium that consists of thin, circular, flexible plastic Mylar
film. It was introduced by IBM in 1972. Standard floppy disk has storage capacity up to 1.44MB.
Floppy disks are compact, lightweight and easily portable from one place to another. Also known as
floppies or diskettes. Most popular and inexpensive secondary storage medium used in small
computers.
Types of Floppy disks
5¼-inch diskette, whose diameter is 5¼-inch. It is encased in a square, flexible vinyl jacket.
3½-inch diskette, whose diameter is 3½-inch. It is encased in a square, hard plastic jacket.
Advantages
 Reusable
 Portable
 Handy
 very low price
 Provide random access of data.
Disadvantages
 Not Durable

Prepared by Fikru T.(Lecturer, MSc.)

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  Prone to damage
 Very low Capacities
5.2.2 Hard Disk
Round, flat piece of rigid metal (frequently aluminium) disks coated with magnetic oxide. It is a
storage device that contains one or more inflexible, circular patterns that store data, instructions &
information. We can store documents, presentation, database, e-mails, messages, music, video,
software etc. Come in many sizes, ranging from 1 to 14-inch diameter. Hard disk of capacities 10GB,
20GB, 40GB, 1TB and even more are easily available.
5.3 RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) Technology
RAID is a set of physical disk drives viewed by the operating system as a single logical drive. Data
are distributed across the physical drives of an array. Redundant disk capacity is used to store parity
information, which guarantees data recoverability in case of a disk failure.
5.4 Optical Disk
Laser beam technology for recording and reading of data on the disk. Consists of a circular disk,
which is coated with a thin metal or some other material that is highly reflective. Laser beam
technology is used for recording/reading of data on the disk. Also known as laser disk / optical laser
disk, due to the use of laser beam technology. Proved to be a promising random access medium for
high capacity secondary storage because it can store extremely large amounts of data in a limited
space. Access times for optical disks are typically in the range of 100 to 300 milliseconds and that of
hard disks are in the range of 10 to 30 milliseconds. The most popular optical disk uses a disk of
5.25-inch diameter with storage capacity of around 650 Megabytes. The optical disk became the
preferred medium for music, movies and software programs because of its many advantages.
Compact, lightweight, durable and digital, the optical disk also provides a minimum of 650 MB of
data storage.
Optical Disk Types
CD: Compact Disk. A non-erasable disk that stores digitized audio information. The standard
system uses 12-cm disks and can record more than 60 minutes of uninterrupted playing time.
CD-ROM: Compact Disk Read-Only Memory. A non-erasable disk used for storing computer
data. The standard system uses 12-cm disks and can hold more than 650 Mbytes.
CD-R: CD Recordable. The user can write to the disk only once.
CD-RW: CD Rewriteable: The user can erase and rewrite to the disk multiple times.
DVD: Digital Versatile Disk. A technology for producing digitized, compressed representation of
video information, as well as large volumes of other digital data. Both 8 and 12 cm diameters are
used, with a double-sided capacity of up to 17 Giga bytes. The basic DVD is read-only (DVD-ROM).
DVD-R: DVD Recordable. he user can write to the disk only once. Only one-sided disks can be
used.
DVD-RW: DVD Rewritable. The user can erase and rewrite to the disk multiple times. Only one-
sided disks can be used.

Prepared by Fikru T.(Lecturer, MSc.)

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Blu-Ray Disk
The Blu-ray Disc is a technology platform that can store sound and video while maintaining high
quality and also access the stored content in an easy-to-use way. Advantage of Blu-ray Disc's large
capacity and high-speed data transfer rate. Large recording capacity up to 27 GB. High-speed data
transfer rate 36 Mbps. Easy to use disc cartridge.
Advantage of Optical Disk
The cost-per-bit of storage for optical disks is very low because of their low cost and enormous
storage density.
Optical disk drives do not have any mechanical read/write heads to rub against or crash into the disk
surface. This makes optical disks a more reliable storage medium than magnetic tapes or magnetic
disks. Optical disks have a data storage life in excess of 30 years. This makes them a better storage
medium for data archiving as compared to magnetic tapes or magnetic disks. As data once stored on
an optical disk becomes permanent, danger of stored data getting inadvertently erased/overwritten is
removed. Due to their compact size and light weight, optical disks are easy to handle, store, and port
from one place to another. Music CDs can be played on a computer having a CDROM drive along
with a sound board and speakers. This allows computer systems to be also used as music systems.
Limitation of Optical disk
It is largely read-only (permanent) storage medium. Data once recorded, cannot be erased and hence
the optical disks cannot be reused. The data access speed for optical disks is slower than magnetic
disks. Optical disks require a complicated drive mechanism.
5.5 Magnetic Tape
Magnetic Tape is a plastic ribbon which is usually ½ inch or ¼ inch wide & 50 to 2400 feet long. It
is coated with iron-oxide material. It is similar to the tape of audio cassettes of tape recorders. Data
is stored as binary digits. Data is accessed sequentially so searching becomes difficult.
Advantages
 Store data up to few gigabytes and Low cost
 Magnetic tape used by both mainframes and microcomputers
Disadvantages:
 Sequential access so searching becomes difficult.
 We can either read or write data at one time.

Prepared by Fikru T.(Lecturer, MSc.)

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