Primary Memory

Secondary storage devices

Secondary and off-line
storage
Secondary (or off-line) storage devices are
not directly accessible by the computer.
These are non-volatile storage devices
means allows data to be stored as long as
required by the user.
These have larger storage space than
primary storage devices.
The data access time is considerably longer
than with RAM and ROM.
These devices are used to store all
applications,
device drivers, and general files (for
Categories of secondary
storage devices
According to technology used secondary (and off-
line) storage devices have three categories:
i. Magnetic storage
• Magnetic storage or magnetic recording is the storage of
data on a magnetized medium
ii. Solid state storage
• A 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 semiconductor storage device,
a solid-state device or a solid-state disk
iii. optical storage
• any storage method that uses a
laser to store and
retrieve data from optical media.
Why is storage needed in a
computer?
A computer would be considered a dumb
terminal without a storage device.
 It cannot store or hold any type of information
or settings if it has no storage device.
Although your computer can run without
storage media, you only can view or read the
information on it unless it was a computer that
is connected to another computer contained
storage abilities.
 Furthermore, a storage device
is needed to store information
about such tasks, like browsing the Internet.
What is a storage location?
When you store any type of information on a
computer or other similar devices, it may ask
you to the storage location where you want to
store the information.
By default, there is various type of data stored
on your computer hard disk.
 If you want to move this information to another
device, you need to transfer it to another
storage media, like a USB flash drive that makes
capable you to move it to any other computer.
Why so many different storage
devices?
As the use of a computer is increasing rapidly,
the technologies used to store data are also
increasing day by day due to the higher need
for storage capacity.
There is need to invent the new technologies
as the use of storage device is increasing day
by day and people want take it with them.
The CR-ROM drives replaced
floppy diskettes, and CD-ROM
was replaced by DVD drives.
Then flash drives are designed
to replace the DVD drives.
Why so many different storage
devices?
The cost of the first hard disk drive from
IBM that contained only 5 MB was $50,000.
In modern times, we have smartphones
that contain much storage capacity at a
smaller price, which can also be carried out
in pocket easily.
Furthermore, every enhancement of
storage device makes it capable of a
computer system to store a large amount
of data, including accessing it speedily.
Magnetic storage
Hard disk Drives (HDD)
Hard Disk Drives (HDD)
 It is the most common method to store data on a computer.
 The hard disk drive (HDD) is the original hard drive. These are
magnetic storage devices that have been around since the
1950s, though they’ve evolved over time.
 A hard disk drive is comprised of a stack of spinning metal disks
known as platters.
 Each spinning disk has trillions of tiny fragments that can be
magnetized in order to represent bits (1s and 0s in binary code).
 An actuator arm with a read/write head scans the spinning
platters and magnetizes fragments in order to
write digital information onto the
HDD, or detects magnetic charges
to read information from it.
 HDDs are used for TV recorders,
servers, and laptop and PC storage.
Magnetic storage
Hard disk Drives (HDD)
 Data is stored in digital format on the magnetic surfaces of
the disks(or platters, they are frequently called).
 The HDD platters can spin at about 7000 times a second.
 This contains multiple magnetic disks but latest hard disks
contain single magnetic disk.
 It is called a Direct Access Storage Device as it is not
searching and access directly.
 Hard disk capacity is usually
measured in terms of MB, GB
and TB. e.g 512GB, 1TB
 Hard disk speed is measured in
Rotation Per Minute (RPM).
5600 RPM, 7200RPM
What Is Fragmentation In Hard
Drive?
Fragmentation refers to the condition of a
hard drive in which files are stored in a
noncontiguous manner, where the files are
divided into pieces and scattered around
the hard drive.
Fragmentation is caused due to frequent
usage of disk by creating, deleting and
modifying files. This process is entirely
managed by Operating System in the
computer and File System in the hard drive
and is invisible to users.
What Is Fragmentation In Hard
Drive?
Eventually fragmentation will slow down
the speed at which data is accessed
because the File System should search
through different parts of the hard drive to
put together a single file.
Since, the data accessing speed is reduced
due to fragmentation it also stresses the
hardware components in the hard drive,
thus the hard drive life is also reduced. In
order to extend the life of the hard drive
and to improve the performance of the
computer it is recommended to defragment
your hard drive regularly.
Removable hard drive
A computer hard drive that is mounted in a
special plastic or metal cartridge, enabling
it to be removed and inserted into other
computers with an USB interface.
Solid-State Drives (SSD)
 Solid-state drives emerged far more recently, in the ‘90s.
SSDs don’t rely on magnets and disks, instead they use a
type of flash memory called NAND. In an SSD,
semiconductors store information by changing the electrical
current of circuits contained within the drive. This means
that unlike HDDs, SSDs don’t require moving parts to
operate.
 The data is store in 0s and 1s in millions of tiny transistors.
 Because of this, SSDs not only work faster and smoother
than HDDs (HDDs take longer to gather information due to
the mechanical nature of their platters and heads), they
also generally last longer than HDDs (with so many intricate
moving parts, HDDs are vulnerable to damage and wear).
 Outside of newer PCs and high-end laptops, you can find
SSDs in smartphones, tablets, and sometimes video
cameras.
Solid-State Drives (SSD)
Since they use non-volatile memory to save
data, SSD doesn’t lose any information
when there is a system disruption due to
power loss and other issues. They are
also faster, silent, robust and energy
efficient than traditional hard drives.
SSD technology
The SSDs that we’re using today are built
on floating gate transistor technology.
Here is a video how SSD technology works

Fundamentals of SSD.mp4
Benefits and drawback of
SSD
Memory stick/flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile memory
chip used for storage and for transferring
data between a personal computer (PC)
and digital devices. It has the ability to be
electronically reprogrammed and erased. It
is often found in USB flash drives, MP3
players, digital cameras and solid-state
drives.
How Flash Memory Works
The main component of most flash memory
systems is a NAND memory chip. This chip uses
tiny transistors to "push" electrons through an
oxide medium into a silicone "gate". These gates
store electrons that a computer can read as 1's
and 0's.
A NAND chip chains together millions or billions of
these transistors and uses a logic controller to
make them work together. To operate more
efficiently, these chips write and rewrite memory
in large blocks, even if only a few bytes are
changing. This is part of why flash drives are fast
enough for everyday use
Advantages of Flash Memory
 Flash memory has unique upsides that make it fundamental
for the way we live our digital lives:
 Robust and Rugged: Because flash memory is solid state, it's
much more resistant to shocks from being bumped and
dropped. It's not invincible, but it's much tougher than an HDD
and easily rugged enough for most use cases.
 Non-Volatile: Flash memory doesn't require electrical power to
store its data. Thus, users don't have to worry about data loss
if power is removed.
 Inexpensive: Once upon a time, flash memory commanded a
premium price. Today, however, the cost of the components
has fallen dramatically. Flash memory is now extremely
affordable.
 Small Footprint: The days of bulky HDDs in consumer devices
are long gone. NAND chips are extremely compact and can
store large amounts of data.
Advantages of Flash Memory
Inexpensive: Once upon a time, flash
memory commanded a premium price.
Today, however, the cost of the
components has fallen dramatically. Flash
memory is now extremely affordable.
Small Footprint: The days of bulky HDDs in
consumer devices are long gone. NAND
chips are extremely compact and can store
large amounts of data.
Drawbacks of Flash Memory
For most use cases, flash memory has just
one real drawback: its finite life span.
Remember that NAND memory has to erase
and rewrite whole blocks of memory rather
than editing individual bits. Every time you
do this, it uses what's called a "write cycle".
This uses up a tiny bit of the metals inside
the transistors, which will eventually be
depleted over the course of many years.
Applications of Flash Memory
 You'll find flash memory just about everywhere in today's
technological landscape. These are a few of the most
important ways that people put flash memory to use:
 USB Flash Drives: As you might guess from the name,
flash memory is how USB flash drives store data.
 Computer and Console Hard Drives: Most modern
laptops, desktops and game consoles use a flash memory
SSD rather than an HDD.
 SD Cards: These tiny memory cards use a flash memory
chip to provide ultra-compact storage. They're common
for phones with expandable memory, digital cameras and
other devices.
 Mobile Device Memory: The built-in internal memory on
devices like phones and tablets is also flash memory.
Optical media CD/DVD
Optical media refers to discs that are
read by a laser. This includes CD-ROMs,
DVD-ROMs, and all the variations of the two
formats -- CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R,
Blu-ray, and many others.
CD
CD stands for Compact Disk.
 It is a portable optical storage device with
a storage capacity of 700
Megabytes(MB).
 A CD is 1.2 millimeter thick with a
diameter of 120 millimeters.
CD drive is used to read data from or write
data to a CD.
Information can be stored by beam of light
and can be read by the reflection of light.
That is way it is called optical disc.
DVD
DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disk.
It has the same thickness and diameter as
CD but has more storage capacity. Its
storage capacity is in the range of 4 to 16
GB.
 A DVD writer is installed in the computer to
read from or write data to a DVD.
A CD can also be used in a DVD writer.
Writing and reading is the same just like CD
disc by using beam of light.
Why DVD store more data?
A Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) uses new optical
storage technology to hold more data than a
Compact Disc (CD).
One of the main reason the potential of dual
layering in DVD.

A DVD reader uses a laser wavelength of 650

nanometers; whereas CDs use lasers with a
wavelength of 780 nanometers.
A DVD have small pits in it to hold more data.
Smaller pits means more can be burnt into the
disc.
Blue-ray disc
A Blu-ray disk (BD) is a high-capacity
optical disk medium developed for
recording, rewriting and playing back high
definition video. It can store large amounts
of data and was designed to supersede the
DVD.
Blu-ray was jointly developed by a group of
personal computer and consumer
electronics companies called the Blu-ray
Disc Association. Blu-ray disks support
higher resolutions and more advanced
video and audio formats compared to
DVDs.
Blue-ray technology
 Blu-ray technology gets its name from the blue-violet
laser that is used to read Blu-ray disks. Compared to
a DVD’s red laser, a blue laser permits more
information to be stored at a greater density. For
example, while a DVD can store 15 GB per layer, a
Blu-ray disk can store 25 GB per layer, and dual-layer
disks can hold up to 50 GB.
 Compared to a DVD, Blu-ray also provides
much higher resolution;
while a DVD with standard definition can
provide definition of 720x480 pixels,
Blu-ray high definition has 1920X1080 pixel
resolution.
Difference between Blue-ray and
DVD