1. Introduction to Storage Devices

2. Storage Devices
Used to keep data when the power to the computer is turned off.
Medium/media
Location where data is stored.

3. Hard Disk Usually mounted inside the computer’s system unit.
Can store billions of characters of data.
Stated in forms of bytes:
Megabytes, Gigabytes or Terabytes

4. Magnetic Storage
Recording of data onto disks or tape by magnetizing particles of an oxide based surface coating.
A fairly permanent type of storage that can be modified.
Used by mainframe or microcomputers

5. Floppy Disk
Round piece of flexible Mylar plastic covered with a thin layer of magnetic oxide and sealed inside a protective covering.
May be referred to as a “floppy”
3½ disk capacity is 1.44 MB or 1,440,000 bytes

6. Solid-State Storage Flash memory cards Key chain hard drives
Widely used in notebook computers
Used to record MP3 music files
Key chain hard drives
Key chain flash memory devices
Connects to a USB port

7. Optical Storage
Means of recording data as light and dark spots on CD or DVD.
Reading is done through a low-power laser light.
Pits
Dark spots
Lands
Lighter, non-spotted surface areas

8. CD-ROM “CD – Read Only Memory” Also called CD-R
Storage device that uses laser technology to read data that is permanently stored on compact disks, cannot be used to write data to a disk.

9. CD-RW
“CD-Read Write”
A storage device that reads data from CD’s and also can write data to CD’s.
Similar to a CD-ROM, but has the ability to write to CD.

10. DVD DVD ROM DVD-R DVD-RW Digital Video Disk which is read only.
Digital Video Disk which can be written to one time. It then becomes read only.
DVD-RW
Digital Video Disk which can be rewritten to.

11. Blu-Ray Technology New standard in storage Blu-Ray
New disks use blue laser light instead of the red laser light used in traditional CD players
Disks may ultimately hold
Over 30GB on one-sided disks
Over 50GB on two-sided disks

12. Flash or Jump Drives
External storage devices that can be used like a external hard drive.
They have the capability to be saved to, deleted from, and files can be renamed just like with a normal hard drive.

13. Hot Swappable
A hot swappable device is one which can be replaced whilst the server is still in operation.
You should only hot swap components when the component and operating system supports it.
The following components can be hot swapped: RAM, disk drive, power supply, NIC, graphics cards.
Hot swappable components are more expensive. Often only necessary when you need to keep a server operational 24/7.

14. List of Devices for Secondary Storage
Magnetic tape and disks
Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM)
Write Once Read Many - (WORM)
Magneto-optical disks
Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID)
Optical disks
Digital Video Disks
Memory cards
Flash memory
Removable storage

15. References Computing Essentials 2005
M. Guymon. Pleasant Grove High School