1.3 Storage

1.3 Storage

1. Secondary storage

   • A non-volatile medium which stores files and programs
     • Examples included the hard drive and solid state drives

2. Magnetic devices

   • Magnetic disks are read and written to with a moving head inside the drive
     • They usually contain moving parts and are susceptible to damage
       • They can be internal or external

3. Solid state devices

   • SSD has no moving parts
     • It retains an electronic charge using logic gates
       • Examples include SD cards and USB memory sticks
         • Also referred to as flash storage

4. Optical devices

   • Optical media includes CD, DVD and Blu-Ray disks
     • Lasers are used to read and write data to a disk
       • Data is stored in tracks around the disk as a series of pits
         • These represent binary code

5. Cloud storage

   • Cloud storage refers to saving data in an off-site location maintained by another party
     • Examples include Dropbox, Google and Microsoft
       • This relies on having an Internet connection to be able to upload and download files from a cloud server

6. Capacity

   • The amount of space that is available to store files
     • Generally measured in GB

7. Speed

   • How quickly a computer can read and write data from a storage device

8. Portability

   • How easily a device can be transported
     • Some devices may be permanent to hardware, others may be easier to transport

9. Durability

   • Will the device withstand a certain amount of damage without corrupting files?

10. Reliability

    • The length of time that the device is expected to last for, how long will it retain functionality

11. Cost

    • The cost of a device compared in terms of cost per GB