Applications of Information and

Communication Technology
Lecture # 3

Muhammad Nasir
Department of Computer Science
CUI Lahore Campus
[email protected]
The slides are adapted from the publisher’s material
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow (Ch3)
Overview
This chapter covers:
 Common characteristics of storage systems
 Primary storage for most personal computers, the
hard drive
 Optical disc systems; how they work and the various
types
 Flash memory systems and how they work
 Other types of storage systems

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Storage System Characteristics
Consist of a storage device and a storage
medium
Device: DVD drive, flash memory card reader, etc.
Medium: DVD disc, flash memory card, etc.
 Medium is inserted
into device to be
used
 Storage devices
are typically
identified by
letter

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Storage System Characteristics
 Can be internal, external, or remote
 Are nonvolatile
 Usually use random access; can be sequential
Logical file representation: The user’s view of the way
data is stored
Physical file representation: The actual physical way
the data is stored on the storage media as viewed by
the computer
Storage technologies:
 Magnetic (conventional hard drives)
 Optical (optical discs)
 Electrons (flash memory media)

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Logical vs. Physical Representation
 File: Anything stored on a storage
medium, such as a program, document,
digital image, or song
 Filename: Name given to a file by the user
 Folder: Named place on a storage medium

into which files can be stored

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Hard Drives
Hard drive: Used to store most programs and
data
 Can be internal and external
 Can be encrypted
Magnetic hard drives
 Use metal hard disks
 Read/write heads magnetize particles to represent the data’s 0s
and 1s
Solid-state drives (SSDs)
 Use flash memory technology
 Use less power and have no moving parts
 Particularly appropriate for portable computers

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Magnetic Hard Drives

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Magnetic Hard Drives
 Hard disks are divided into
− Tracks
− Sectors
− Clusters
− Cylinders

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Solid State Drives (SSDs)

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External Hard Drives

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Hard Drive Speed and
Caching
Disk access time: Total time that it takes for
a hard drive to read or write data
 Consists of seek time, rotational delay, and data
movement time

Disk cache: Dedicated part of RAM used to

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Hybrid Hard Drives

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Quick Quiz
1. Of the following three options, the storage
media that would hold the most data is a(n)
__________________.
a. internal hard drive
b. USB flash memory drive
c. portable hard drive
2. True or False: Hard drives typically contain more
than one metal hard disk.
3. The circular rings on a magnetic disk on which
data is stored are called ________________________.
Answers:
1) a; 2) True; 3) tracks

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Optical Discs
Optical discs: store data optically (using laser
beams)
 Divided into sectors like magnetic discs but use a single spiral
track (groove)
 Data is stored in 0s and 1s
• Pits and lands are used to represent 1s and 0s, the transition
between a pit and a land represents a 1; no transition represents a
0

Can be:
 Read-only: Surface is molded or stamped to represent the data
 Recordable or rewritable: Reflectivity of surface is changed by a
laser

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Optical Discs

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Optical Drives
Optical drives: Designed for type of disc: CD,
DVD, or Blu-Ray Disc (BD)
 Can be read-only, recordable, or rewritable
 Downward compatible
 Can support single or dual layer discs
Burning: Recording data onto disc
 CD discs: Use infrared lasers; hold 650 MB
 DVD discs: Use red lasers; hold 4.7 GB (single-layer)
 BD discs: Use blue-violet lasers; hold 25 GB (single-layer)
Can be internal or external drives
 External drives typically USB

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Read-Only Discs
Read-only disc: Can be read from, but not
written to, by the user
 CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory)
 DVD-ROM (digital versatile disc read-only memory)
 BD-ROM (Blu-Ray disc read-only memory)

Normally come pre-recorded

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Recordable
Discs
Recordable disc: Can be written to, but
cannot be erased and reused
 CD-R discs
 DVD-R/DVD+R discs; can be dual-layer
 BD-R; can be dual-layer
• Used for back up, sending large files to others, creating custom
music CDs, storing home movies, etc.

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Rewritable Discs
Rewritable disc: Can be recorded on, erased,
and overwritten just like magnetic discs
 CD-RW
 DVD-RW
 BD-RE; can be dual layer

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Quick Quiz
1. The capacity of the typical CD disc is
_______________.
a. 50 GB
b. 650 MB
c. 4.7 GB
2. True of False: A DVD-RW disc can be written to
and rewritten to.
3. The tiny depressions, dark areas, or otherwise
altered spots on an optical disc that are used to
represent data are called ______________________.
Answers:
1) b; 2) True; 3) pits

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Flash Memory Systems
Chip-based storage medium
 No moving parts so more resistant to shock and
vibration, require less power, make no sound
 Solid-state storage system
Most often found in the form of:
 Flash memory cards
 USB flash drives
 Solid-state drives
 Hybrid hard drives
Very small and so are very appropriate for
use with digital cameras, digital music
players, GPS devices, notebook computers,
mobile devices, etc.
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Flash Memory Systems

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USB Flash Drives
USB flash drives: Consist of flash memory
media and a reader in a single self-contained
unit
 Typically portable drives that connect to and are powered by a
USB port
 Also called USB flash memory drives, thumb drives, jump drives

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Other Types of Storage Systems
Remote storage: Using a storage device not
directly a part of the computer being used
 Network storage: Via a local network
Network attached storage (NAS): Connected directly to a
network
 Online storage or cloud storage: Accessed via the Internet
 Via Web sites (Flickr, Facebook, Google Docs, etc.)
 Via online storage sites (Box.net, SkyDrive, etc.)

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Smart Cards
Smart card: Credit card-sized piece of plastic
that contains some computer circuitry
(processor, memory, and storage)
 Stores small amount of data (about 64 KB or less)
 Commonly used to store prepaid amounts of digital cash or
personal information
 Smart card readers are built into or attached to a computer,
keyboard, vending machine, or other device
 Some smart cards store biometric data
 Can be used in conjunction with encryption and other security
technologies

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Smart Cards

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Storage Systems for Large Computer
Systems and Networks
Storage server: Hardware device containing
multiple high-speed hard drives
Businesses have to store
tremendous amounts of data
 Business data
 Employee and
customer data

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RAID
RAID (redundant arrays of independent
discs): Method of storing data on two or more
hard drives that work together to do the job
of a larger drive
 Usually involves recording redundant copies of stored data
 Helps to increase fault tolerance
Different levels of RAID:
RAID 0 = disk striping (spread files over two or more hard
drives)
RAID 1 = disk mirroring (duplicate copy)
Other level use a combination or striping and mirroring

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RAID

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Magnetic Tape
Systems
Magnetic tape: Plastic tape with a
magnetizable surface that stores data as a
series of magnetic spots
 Primarily used for backup and archival purposes
 Sequential access only
 Low cost per megabyte
 Most tapes today are in the form of cartridge tapes

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Evaluating Your Storage
Alternatives
Factors to consider:
 Speed
 Compatibility
 Storage capacity
 Convenience
 Portability
Most users require:
 Hard drive
 CD or DVD drive
 Flash memory card reader
 USB port connecting USB devices

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Quick Quiz
1. An online photo sharing site is an example
of___________.
a. RAID
b. remote storage
2. True of False: Flash memory storage systems are
called solid-state storage systems because they are
nonvolatile.
3. A type of sequential storage that sometimes used
today for backup purposes is _____________.
Answers:
1) b; 2) False; 3) magnetic tape

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