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MODULE THREE - ITC101L Part II

Module 3 of ITC101L covers essential concepts of computer hardware, focusing on storage systems, including types of storage media and devices, their characteristics, and access methods. It explains the differences between internal and external hard drives, magnetic and solid-state drives, and the importance of disk caching and partitioning. Additionally, it discusses optical discs and how data is represented on them, emphasizing the technological advancements in storage solutions.

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Aljondear Ramos
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
50 views18 pages

MODULE THREE - ITC101L Part II

Module 3 of ITC101L covers essential concepts of computer hardware, focusing on storage systems, including types of storage media and devices, their characteristics, and access methods. It explains the differences between internal and external hard drives, magnetic and solid-state drives, and the importance of disk caching and partitioning. Additionally, it discusses optical discs and how data is represented on them, emphasizing the technological advancements in storage solutions.

Uploaded by

Aljondear Ramos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 18

ITC101L – MODULE 3

MODULE THREE
Computer Hardware – Part II
1. STORAGE

Storage System Characteristics

a. Storage Media and Storage Devices

Storage medium and storage device are the two parts to any storage
systems. Storage medium is the hardware where data is actually
stored, such as: DVD or flash memory card; while a storage device is
where a storage medium is inserted to be read from or written to, such
as: DVD drive or flash memory card reader.
Often, the storage medium and storage device are two separate pieces
of hardware, that is when storage medium is removable. However, in
some systems – such as hard drive or most USB flash drives – the two
parts are permanently sealed together to form one piece of hardware.
Storage devices can be internal or external or remote. Internal devices
have the advantage of requiring no additional desk space and usually
faster than their external counterparts. External devices, on the other
hand, can be easily transported from one location to another, and can
be removed from the computer and stored in a secured area. Remote
devices are accessed over a network. Storage devices accessed over
the Internet have an advantage of being accessible from any computer
with an Internet connection. Storage devices are typically identified by
letter. Letter C is by default used for primary hard drives.

b. Volatility

Storage media are non – volatile, thus the data remains on the media
even when the power to the computer or storage device is off. Storage
media are used for anything that needs to be saved for future use.

c. Random vs Sequential Access

Access is when the computer receives an instruction that requires data


located on a storage medium and goes to designated location on the
appropriate storage medium and retrieve the requested data.
Random access or direct access, means that the data can be retrieved
directly from any location on the storage medium in any order. A
random-access device works in any manner similar to a DVD player
used to play music or movies; that is, it can jump directly to a
particular location on the medium when data located at the location is
needed. Virtually, all storage devices used with the computers today
for day – to – day storage – hard drives, DVD drives, and USB flash

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drives – are random access devices. Media that allow random access
are sometimes referred to as addressable media. This means, that the
storage system can locate each piece of stored data at a unique
address, which is determined by the computer system.
In sequential access, the data can only be retrieved in the order in
which it is physically stored on the medium. One type of storage device
that is sometimes used with the computers for backup purposes and
that uses sequential access is a magnetic tape drive. This drive works
like audiocassette tapes or video tapes – to get to the specific location
on the tape, you must play or fast forward through all the tape that
comes before the location you want to access.

d. Logical vs Physical Representation

File refers to anything – such as a program, letter, digital photograph,


or song – stored on a storage medium. Data files are often called
documents. When a document that was just created is saved, it is
stored as a new file on the storage medium designated by the user,
During the storage process, the user is required to give the file a name
– known as filename – which is used to retrieve the file when it is
needed at a later time. Folders are used to keep related files
organized.
Logical file representation is how the individuals view a document
stored as one complete unit in a particular folder on a particular drive.
Physical file representation is used by computers to access a particular
document stored on a stored on a storage medium.

e. Type of Storage Technology Used

Data is stored magnetically or optically on many types of storage


media. With magnetic storage systems, data is stored magnetically on
the storage medium, which means the data (0s and 1s) is represented
using different magnetic alignments. Storage device can change the
magnetic alignment when needed, so data can be written to the
medium, deleted from the medium, or rewritten to the medium.

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Optical storage media store data optically using laser beams. On some
optical media, the laser burns permanent marks to represent 0s and 1s
into the surface of the medium so the data cannot ne erased or
rewritten. With rewriteable optical media, the laser changes the
reflectivity of the medium to represent 0s and 1s but it does not
permanently alter the disc surface so the reflectivity can be changed
back again as needed.
Some storage systems use a combination of magnetic and optical
technology. Others use a different technology altogether, such as flash
memory storage systems that represent data using electrons inside
flash memory cells to represent 0s and 1s.

HARD DRIVES
Hard drives are used to store most programs and data. Internal hard drives –
those located inside the system unit – are not designed to be removed,
unless they need to be repaired or replaced. External hard drives typically
connect to a computer via an external port – such as a USB or Thunderbolt
port – or a wireless connection and are frequently used for additional storage
to move files between computers, and for backup purposes.
Smartphones, digital video recorders, gaming consoles, digital camcorders,
and more consumer products also have built -in hard drives. Although some
devices today use only flash memory chips for internal storage.
For security purposes, both internal and external hard drives today are
available with built -in encryption that automatically encrypts all data stored
on the hard drive and limits access to the hard drive to only authorized users,
typically via a password, PIN (personal identification number), or fingerprint
scan.
Magnetic Hard Drives
A magnetic hard drive also called hard disk drive or HDD contains one
or more metal hard disks or platters that are coated with a
magnetizable substance. These hard disks are permanently sealed
inside the hard drive case along with the read/write heads used to
store (write) and retrieve (read) data and an access mechanism used
to move the read/write heads in and out of the surface of the hard
disks.

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The surface of a hard disk is organized into tracks and pie – shaped
group of sectors. On most computer systems, the smallest amount of
disk space on a hard drive that can be used to store a file is a cluster –
one or more adjacent sectors. The computer numbers the tracks,
sectors and clusters so it can keep track of the location of the data.
File system is used by a computer to record where each file is
physically stored on the hard drive and what filename the user
assigned to it. File system is used whenever the file is retrieved. Aside
from the sectors, tracks, and clusters, hard drives also organized into
cylinders. A cylinder is the collection of one specific track located on
each hard disk surface. It is the area on all of the hard disks inside a
hard drive that can be accessed without moving the read/write access
mechanism, once it has moved to a proper position.

Longitudinal magnetic recording


Magnetic particles in the hard disk have been aligned
horizontally, parallel to the hard disk’s surface.
Perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR)
To increase capacity and reliability, most new hard drives use
PMR in which bits are placed upright to allow them to be closer
together than is possible with horizontal layout.
Shingled Magnetic recording (SMR)
Allows even higher capacities in hard drive which squeezes more
data onto disks by overlapping the data tracks on them like the
shingles on a roof. However, this may reduce performance, particularly
when writing data onto disk
Heat – Assisted magnetic recording (HAMR)

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Use lasers to temporarily heat the surface of the hard disks


when storing data in order to pack more data onto the surface than is
normally possible.

Note: Magnetic hard drive’s read/write heads never touch the surface
of the hard disks at any time. If the read/write heads do touch the
surface, a head crash occurs which can permanently damage the hard
drive. Read/write heads are located extremely close to the surface of
the hard disk, the presence of a foreign object the width of a human
hair or even a smoke particle on the surface of the hard disk is like
placing a huge boulder on a road and then trying to drive it over with
your car.
Solid State Drives (SSDs)
These hard drives use flash memory chips instead of a magnetic disk;
thus, SSDs have no moving parts and data is stored as electrical
charges on the flash memory media located within the SSD. Because of
this, SSDs are not subject to mechanical failures and are more
resistant to shock and vibration. They also consume less power,
generate less heat, make no noise, and faster than the magnetic hard
drive. Used in notebooks and other portable devices instead of, or in
addition to a magnetic hard drive. One recent trend today is utilizing
both an SSD and magnetic hard drive in a single computer. A smaller,
less expensive SSD (such as 128 GB) can be used for the operating
system and important applications to speed up the system, and a
larger magnetic hard drive can be used for data storage and lesser –
used applications.
Solid State Hybrid Drives (SSHDs)
Also called hybrid drives, contain both flash memory chips and
magnetic hard drives. With an SSHD, the data that is most directly
associated with performance (boot data and frequently accessed data)
is stored in flash memory. The flash memory – usually about 8GB –
allows the hard drive to be faster. It is used to reduce the number of
times the hard disks need to be read, as well as temporarily store data
to be written to the hard disks, both of which can extend battery life of
portable computers and mobile devices. Flash memory can also allow
encryption or other security measures to be built into drive.
Internal vs External Hard Drives
Internal hard drives are permanently located inside a computer’s system unit
and typically are not removed unless there is a problem with them. Virtually
all computers have at least one internal hard drive that is used to store
programs and data.

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External hard drives are commonly used for transporting a large amount of
data from one computer to another, for back up purposes and for additional
storage. Portable hard drives are smaller external hard drives specifically
designed to be removed from computer to computer when needed.
Hard Drive Speed and Disk Caching
The hard disk inside a magnetic hard drive typically spin continually at a rate
of between 5,400 and 15,000 revolution per minute (rpm). The total time it
takes for a hard drive to read or write data is called the disk access time
which requires the following steps.
1. Move the read/write heads to the cylinder that contains (or will
contain) the desired data – called seek time.
2. Rotate the hard disks into the proper position so that the read/write
heads are located over the part of the cylinder to be used – called
rotational delay.
3. Move the data, such as reading the data from the hard disk and
transferring it to memory, or transferring the data from memory and
storing it on the hard disk – called data movement time.
To minimize disk access time, magnetic hard drives usually store related data
on the same cylinder. This strategy reduces seek time, and therefore improve
the overall access time. SSDs do not require seek time or rotational delay as
they do not have any moving parts and their access time is much faster than
magnetic hard drives.
Disk caching is often used to speed up magnetic hard drive performance. A
cache is a place to store something temporarily. A disk cache stores copies of
data or programs that are located on the hard drive and that might be
needed soon in memory in order to avoid having to retrieve the data or
programs from the hard drive upon request. Today’s hard drive typically use
a disk cache consisting of a memory chips located on a circuit board inside
the hard drive case.
Hard Drive Partitioning and File Systems
Partitioning a hard drive enables you to divide the physical capacity of a
single hard drive logically into separate areas – called partitions or volumes.
Partitions function as independent hard drives and are sometimes referred to
as logical drives because each partition is labeled and treated separately
when viewed in a file management program, but they are still physically one
drive. Some new personal computers come with two partitions: a C drive
partition ready to use for programs and data and a D drive partition set up as
a recovery partition. A recovery partition contains the data necessary to
restore a hard drive back to its state at the time the computer was purchase
and is designed to be used only if the computer malfunctions.
One reason user creates a partition of primary drive is to be able to use two
different operating systems on the same hard drive. With a dual boot system

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such as this, the user specifies the operating system to be run each time a
computer boots.
The partition size, cluster size (on magnetic hard drives), maximum drive
size, and maximum file size that can be used with a hard drive are
determined by the file system being used. Most Windows computers typically
use NTFS, which supports much larger hard drives and files than the older
FAT32 and includes better security and error – recovery capabilities. Older
versions of Windows and some removable storage devices like USB flash
drives use FAT32, which has a maximum partition size of 32GB and a
maximum file size of 4GB.
Hard Drive Interface Standards
Hard drives connect, or interface, with a computer using one of several
different standards. The most common internal hard drive interface standards
for desktop computers today is serial ATA (SATA). The SATA standard was
designed to replace the older, slower parallel ATA (PATA) standard, which
also referred to as Fast ATA and EIDE (Enhanced Integrated Drive
Electronics). SATA is faster than PATA and uses thinner cables, which means
SATA hard drives take up less room inside the system unit. Internal SSDs may
use the SATA interface but many plugs directly into a PCIe port or use the
faster serial attached SCSI (SAS) interface standard. External hard drives
most often connect to the computer via a USB or Thunderbolt port.
OPTICAL DISC AND DRIVES
Optical Disc Characteristics
Optical discs are thin circular discs made out of polycarbonate
substrate – essentially a type of very strong plastic – that are topped
with layers of other materials and coatings used to store data and
protect the disc. Data can be stored on one or both sides of an optical
disc, depending on the disc design, and some types of discs use
multiple recording layers on each side of the disc to increase capacity.

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Representing Data on an Optical Disc


Data is written to an optical disc in one of two ways. With read – only
optical discs like movie, music, and software CDs and DVDs, the
surface of the disc is molded or stamped appropriately to represent the
data. With recordable or rewriteable optical discs that can be written to
using an optical drive such as a DVD drive, the reflectivity of the disc is
changed using a laser to represent the data. In either case, the disc is
read with a laser and the computer interprets the reflection of the laser
off the disc surface as 1s and 0s.
To accomplish this with molded or stamped optical discs, bumps are
created on the disc’s surface. These bumps are called pits; the areas
on the disc that are not changed are called lands. Many think that each
individual put and land represents a 1 or 0, however that idea is not
completely accurate- it is actually the transition between a pit and land
represents a 1. With a disc recorded using a DVD drive, the recording
laser beam changes the reflectivity of the appropriate areas on the
disc to represent the data stored there – dark, non-reflective areas are
pits; reflected areas are lands. Different types of optical discs use
different types of laser beams. Conventional CD discs use infrared
lasers; conventional DVD discs use red lasers, which allow data to be
stored more compactly on the same size disc; and a high – definition
Blu – ray Disc (BDs) use blue – violet lasers, which can store data even
more compactly on a disc.
Optical Drives
Optical discs in each of the three categories – CD, DVD, and BD – can
be read – only, recordable, or rewritable; they can use the + or –
standard; and they can be either single – layer or dual – layer (DL)

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discs. Optical discs are designed to be read by optical drives, such as


CD, DVD, and BD drives. Most optical drives today support multiple
type of optical discs – some support all possible types. Optical drives
are almost always backward – compatible – meaning they can be used
with older types of disc but not newer ones.
The process of recording data onto a recordable or rewritable optical
disc is called burning. To burn an optical disc, the optical drive being
used must support burning and the type of disc being used. In addition,
CD – burning or DVD – burning software is required – although recent
operating systems have built – in burning capabilities. Most CD and
DVD drives also come bundled with burning software. An external
optical drive that connects via USB port can be used with most
computers and some tablets whenever an optical drive is temporarily
needed.
Optical Disc Shapes, Sizes, and Capacities
Standard – sized optical discs are 120mm (approx. 4.7 inches) discs.
There are also smaller 80mm (approx. 3inches) mini discs that use that
smaller form factor. Theoretically, optical discs can be made into a
variety of size – like heart, triangle, irregular shape, or a hockey – rink
shape appropriate for business card CDs. Patent battle is ongoing to
change the shape of an normally round storage media has resulted in
some of these custom shapes not being available.

Read – Only Optical Discs: CD – ROM, DVD – ROM, and BD – ROM


Discs
Compact – disc read-only memory (CD – ROM) discs and digital
versatile disc read – only memory (DVD – ROM) discs are read – only
optical discs that come prerecorded with commercial products, such as
software programs, clip art and other types of graphics collections,
music and movies. For HD content, blue – ray disc read – only memory
(BD – ROM) discs are available; for 4k movies, read – only Ultra HD Blu
– ray discs can be used. The data on read – only discs cannot be

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erased, changed, or added to because the pics that are molded into
the surface of the disc when disc is produced are permanent.
Recordable Optical Discs: CD – R, DVD – R, DVD+ R, and BD – R
Discs
Recordable optical disc can be written to, but the discs cannot be
erased and reused. Recordable CDs are referred to as CD – R discs.
Single – layer recordable DVDs are called either DVD – R discs or DVD
+ R discs, depending on the standard being used, and dual – layer
recordable DVDs are called DVD+R DL or DVD-R DL discs. Recordable
BD discs are also available in single – layer, dual – layer, and XL discs
(BD – R discs, BD – R DL discs, and BD – R XL). The capacities of
recordable optical discs are the same as the read – only formats.
Instead of having physically molded pits, most recordable optical discs
have a recording layer containing organic light – sensitive dye
embedded between the disc’s plastic and reflective layers, except the
BD – R disc which has a recording layer consisting of inorganic
material.
Rewritable Optical Discs: CD – RW, DVD – RW, DVD+ RW, and
BD – RE Discs
Rewritable optical discs can be written to, erased, and overwritten just
like magnetic hard disks. The most common types of rewritable optical
discs are CD – RW, DVD – RW, DVD + RW, and BD – RE discs; BD – RE
discs are also available as dual – layer discs (BD – RE DL discs) and XL
discs (BD – RE XL). The capacities of rewritable discs are the same as
their read – only and recordable counterparts.
Phase change technology is used to write to, erase, or overwrite
rewritable optical discs. With this technology, the rewritable disc is
coated with layers of a special metal alloy compound that can have
two different appearances after it has been heated and then cooled,
depending on the heating and cooling process used. These types of
discs are usually used for transferring large files from one computer to
another or temporarily store TV shows.

FLASH MEMORY STORAGE SYSTEMS


Flash memory is a chip – based storage medium that represents data using
electrons. It is used in a variety of storage systems such as the SSDs and
SSHDs.
Embedded Flash Memory
Refers to a flash memory chips embedded into products. Because flash
memory media are physically very small, they are increasingly being

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embedded directly into a variety of consumer products – such as smart


phones, tablets, smart watches, and even sunglasses and wristwatches
– to provide built – in data storage.

Flash Memory Cards and Readers


One of the most common types of flash memory media is the flash
memory card – a small card containing one or more flash memory
chips, a controller chip, other electrical components, and metal
contacts to connect the card to the device or reader being used. Flash
memory cards are available in a variety of formats, such as
CompactFlash (CF), Secured Digital (SD), MultiMedia Card (MMC), xD
Picture Card (xD), XQD, and Memory Stick (MS). These formats are not
interchangeable, so the type of memory card used with a device is
determined by the type and size of flash media card that device can
accept.

Flash memory cards are the most common type of storage media for
digital cameras, smartphones, and other portable devices. Most of
computers and many mobile devices today have a built – in flash
memory card reader capable of reading flash memory cards; an
external flash memory card reader that connects via a USB port can be
used when the destination device does not have a built – in reader.
Flash memory cards are available up to 512GB.

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There are general purpose flash memory cards that can be used for
most applications, there are also flash memory cards designed for
specific uses. Professional flash memory cards designed for
professional photographers are faster and more durable than
consumer cards and gaming flash memory cards are specifically
designed for gaming consoles and devices – such as Nintendo Wii or
Sony PSP.
USB Flash Drives
USB flash drives – often times called USB drives or flash drives –
consist of flash memory media integrated into a self – contained unit
that connects to a computer or other device via a USB port and is
powered via the port. USB flash drives are designed to be very small
and very portable. In order to be appropriate for a wide variety of
applications, USB flash drives are available in a host of formats –
including those designed to be attached to backpacks or worn on a
lanyard around the neck; those built into pens, necklaces, wristbands,
or wristwatches, those thin enough to fit easily into a wallet; and those
made into custom shapes for promotional or novelty purposes.
To read from or write to a USB flash drive, you just plug it into a USB
port. If the USB flash drive is being used with a computer, it is assigned
a drive letter by the computer. USB flash drives today can store up to 1
TB.

OTHER TYPES OF STORAGE SYSTEMS


Network and Cloud Storage Systems

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Remote storage refers to using a storage device that is not connected


directly to the user’s computer; instead, the device is accessed
through a local network or through the Internet. Using a remote
storage device via a local network works in much the same way as
using local storage. To read data from or write data to a network
storage device, the user just selects it and then perform the necessary
tasks in the normal fashion. Network storage is common in business; it
is also used by individuals with home networks for backup purposes or
to share files with other devices in the home.
Because of the vast amount of data shared and made available over
networks today, network storage has become increasingly important.
Two common types of network storage is used today: network
attached storage (NAS) devices and storage area networks (SANs).
NAS devices are high performance storage systems that are connected
individually to a network to provide storage for computers connected
to that network. Some are designed for small business use; others are
geared for home use instead.
SAN also provides for a network, but it consists of a separate network
of hard drives or other storage devices, which is connected to the main
network. The difference between NAS and SAN is how storage devices
interface with the network – that is whether the storage devices act as
individual network nodes, just like computers, printers, and other
devices on the network (NAS), or whether they are located in a
completely separate network of storage devices that is accessible via
the main network (SAN). SANs can be more appropriate when larger
amount of network storage is needed; however, in terms of
functionality, the distinction between NAS and SAN is blurring because
they both provide storage services to the network. Both NAS and SAN
systems are scalable, which means that new devices can be added as
more storage is needed, and devices can be added or removed without
disrupting the network.
Remote storage services accessed via the Internet are often referred
to as cloud storage or online storage. Cloud storage can be provided
either as stand – alone service or as part of a cloud computing service.
Cloud storage sites allow users to chare uploaded files or folders with
others via an e-mail message or a link to the shared content. For
security purposes, cloud storage sites are usually password protected
and you can specify the individuals that are allowed to view shared
files.

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Most cloud applications – such as Google Docs, Flickr photo sharing


service, and social networking sites such as Facebook – provide online
storage for these services. There are also sites whose primary
objective is to allow users to store documents online, such as Box,
Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive.
Cloud storage is increasingly used for backup purposes – some sites
have an automatic backup option that uploads the files in designated
folders on your computer to your cloud account at regular specified
intervals, as long as your computer is connected to the Internet.
OneDrive and Google Drive are examples of websites providing cloud
storage to individuals which offers service for free and additional
storage space can be purchased if needed.
Business cloud storage services are also available, such as those
offered in conjunction with cloud computing services that allow
subscribers to access a flexible amount of both storage and computing
power as needed on demand. For instance, Amazon Simple Storage
Service (Amazon S3) – one of the leaders in enterprise cloud storage –
charges a monthly fee per GB of storage used plus a fee based on the
amount of data transferred that month. This service can be used alone
or in conjunction with Amazon’s cloud computing service, Amazon
Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). Businesses can also create
private clouds aside from public cloud storage services.

Smart Cards
A smart card is a credit card – sized piece of plastic that has built – in
computer circuitry and components – typically a processor, memory,
and storage. Smart cards today store a relatively small amount of data
(64KB or less) that can be used for payment or identification purposes.

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For instance, a smart card can store a prepaid amount of digital cash,
which can be used for purchases at a smart – card enabled vending
machine or to pay transit fares – the amount of cash available on the
card is reduced each time the card is used.
Smart cards are also commonly used worldwide for national and
student ID cards, credit and debit cards adhering to the global EMV
standard to increase security and decrease fraudulent use and access
cards facilities or computer networks. These applications have all used
conventional magnetic stripe technology in the past, the processor
integrated into smart card can perform computations – such as
authenticate the card, encrypt the data on the card to protect its
integrity, and secure against unauthorized access – and can allow data
to be added to the card or modified on the card as needed.
To use a smart card, it must either be inserted into a smart card reader
or placed close to a smart card reader built into or attached to a
computer, door lock, ATM, vending machine, or other device.

Storage Systems for Large Computer Systems

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RAID
RAID (redundant arrays of independent disks) is a method of
storing data on two or more hard drives that work together.
Although RAID can be used to increase performance, it is most
often used to protect critical data on a large storage system.
Because RAID usually involves recording redundant copies of
stored data, the copies can be used, when necessary, to
reconstruct lost data. This helps in increasing the fault tolerance
– the ability to recover from an unexpected hardware or
software failure, such as a system crash – of a storage system.
Different RAID designs or levels
RAID 0 – uses disk striping which spreads files over two or
more hard drives. Although striping improves performance
because multiple hard drives can be accessed at one time to
store or retrieve data, it does not provide fault tolerance
RAID 1 – uses disk mirroring in which data is written to
two duplicate hard drives simultaneously. The objective of disk
mirroring is to increase fault tolerance – if one of the hard drives
fails, the system can instantly switch to the other hard drive
without any loss of data or service.
Levels beyond RAID 1 use some combination of disk
striping and disk mirroring, with different types of error
correction provisions.
One disadvantage of RAID in the past is the difficulty
traditionally involved with setting up and maintaining the

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system. New storage systems - such as Drobo storage systems


and some of today’s NASs – eliminate this concern.

Archival Storage Systems


Data archiving is the process of identifying and moving data that
is no longer actively being used from regular storage systems to
separate long – term archival storage system. Data archiving is
important because, while there is a great deal of data that needs
to be retained for future reference or regulatory compliance, this
data doesn’t need to be accessed very frequently. Moving this
data out of the regular storage systems improves performance
of the regular systems while still meeting data storage needs. It
also reduces backup time because less regular data needs to be
backed up. Data archival systems tend to be less expensive than
regular storage systems.
Magnetic tape, which consists of plastic tape coated with a
magnetizable substance that represents the bits and bytes of
digital data, similar to magnetic hard disks – is one of the
options for archival systems. One advantage of magnetic tape is
its low cost per terabyte. Most computer tapes today are in the
form of cartridge tapes. Computer tapes are read by tape drives,
which can either an internal or an external piece of hardware.
Tape drives contain one or more read/write heads over which
the tape passes to allow the tape drive to read or write data.
Tape cartridge varies widely, up to 5TB per cartridge. When an
even larger capacity is requires, tape libraries – devices that
contain multiple tape drives – can be used to boost storage
capacity up to 10PB.

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Mini Task 3.2


Make a comparison of the following hard drives
o Magnetic Hard Drive
o Solid State Drive
o Solid State Hybrid Drive

Compare the three drives based on:


o Hardware component
o Size
o Amount of storage
o
o Price
o Energy Consumption
o Performance/ Access efficiency
o Access mechanism (how data is read and written to)
o Durability
o Interface Standards
o Internal/External
o Availability on Desktop, Laptops, Server

Provide a matrix to easily present your comparison.

DRIVE 1 DRIVE 2 DRIVE 3


BASIS 1
BASIS 2
BASIS 3
BASIS …
BASIS N

1.

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