Which device is a storage medium?
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A storage device is any type of computing hardware that is used for storing, porting or extracting data files and objects. Storage devices can hold and store information both temporarily and permanently. They may be internal or external to a computer, server or computing device. Show
A storage device may also be known as a storage medium or storage media depending on whether it is seen as discrete in nature (for example, “a hard drive” versus “some hard drive space.”) Advertisement Techopedia Explains Storage DeviceStorage devices are one of the core components of any computing device. They store virtually all of the data and applications on a computer, except for hardware firmware which is generally managed through separate read-only memory or ROM. Storage devices are available in different forms, depending on the type of underlying device. For example, a standard computer has multiple storage devices including RAM, a cache, and a hard disk. The same device may also have optical disk drives and externally connected USB drives. There are two different types of storage devices: Primary storage devices: Generally smaller in size, primary storage devices are designed to hold data temporarily and are internal to the computer. They have the fastest data access speed. These types of devices include RAM and cache memory. Secondary storage devices: Secondary storage devices usually have larger storage capacity, and they store data permanently. They can be either internal or external to the computer. These types of devices include the hard disk, the optical disk drive and USB storage device. Brief History of Storage DevicesIn order to really understand what storage devices used to look like and what they look like now, it can be helpful to look at a history of evolving storage devices in general. Early storage devices were primitive mechanical systems based on items like punch cards and later, magnetic tape. They presented binary through physical media. These became largely obsolete when other digital media was created. First, there were floppy disks and diskettes, then there were compact discs that could hold large amounts of binary in digital formats. At the same time, computers and other devices continued to be made with primary hard drives, where a traditional platter is read by an arm in order to read and write data. Eventually, a new option emerged called the solid-state drive or SSD. The New Paradigm: Solid-State Drives and Storage DevicesNew solid-state drives and storage devices store data in a way that's different from the traditional platter hard drive. Solid-state storage involves running electrical currents through a substrate instead of using a spinning hard drive platter. It eliminates some of the mechanical parts of the traditional hard drive. It also makes the storage of digital information much more efficient. New computers may have solid-state drives as a primary device. New flash drives and thumb drives use solid-state storage for secondary devices. At the same time, companies have been updating how they approach storage device engineering for broader enterprise systems. Systems like Redundant Array of Independent Disk (RAID) designs allow companies to use a series of drives to store information in "slices." Then the storage area network (SAN) evolved, which links together individual storage devices to provide network storage. Something called "storage fabric" uses fiber channel switching to build network storage for enterprise systems. Cloud and Virtual StorageOne of the latest advances in storage media involves the cloud and virtualization. With modern systems, users can store data virtually, rather than using physical hardware on-site. For example, Amazon Web Services offers AWS S3, a type of object storage where instead of being stored in physical hard drive devices, customers store data in virtual buckets. These types of innovations represent the frontier of where storage media is going. Welcome to a guide on the types of computer storage devices and media. Over many years in the digital world, people have invented tons of storage devices and media. Just which is which? Let us walk through the common types of storage devices and media in this guide – Read on!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
MAGNETIC STORAGELet us now start with one of the most traditional forms of data storage, using magnets. In layman’s terms, the north/south pole of the magnet can be used to represent a data bit. Put a bazillion mini magnets into a small box, and we get a magnetic storage device.
1) HARD DISK DRIVE (HDD)The regular Joe that we find in most computers. Hard disks store data in magnetic platters and use read-write heads just like the old-school retro record players. Because of the motor and read/write head, these are also commonly known as “mechanical hard disks”.
2) MAGNETIC CARD/STRIPEEver notice the black stripe behind credit cards and ATM cards? Ever wonder why people swipe these black stripes across a machine? That is because the black stripe is actually magnetic and contains a unique identification number. Now that you know, keep your card safe and don’t ever damage that stripe.
3) TAPEIn short, tapes are just long magnetic strips. The oldies should know this one very well, and there are various types of tapes – Cassette tapes for audio, videotapes, and even tape drives for server backup. Even though we no longer use cassettes and videotapes these days, tapes for server backup are still in use.
4) FLOPPY DISKOldies should know this one as well. Floppy disks are essentially “magnetic paper encased in plastic”, and there are 3 common sizes:
But floppy disks are no longer in use today due to their very limited storage space and manufacturing cost.
5) ZIP DISKFollowing up sometime in the mid-1990s, floppy disks could no longer keep up with the amount of data. Something called a “zip disk” then replaced it – With a single zip disk being able to hold up to 70 or more floppy disks. It remained popular until CDs took over in the early 2000s.
6) SUPER DISKThe super disk is a competitor to the zip disk, but sadly, it was not too popular and died without making a big splash.
OPTICAL STORAGEThese are what ended the floppy and magnetic disks – Optical discs that use lights and lasers to store data.
7) COMPACT DISC (CD)I guess you can call these the so-called first generation of mainstream optical discs. CDs used to be manufactured in factories only, but after the invention of writable and rewritable discs (CDR and CDRW), they took over the market by storm.
8) DIGITAL VERSATILE DISC (DVD)DVDs are pretty much still optical discs, but it holds more data. Call it the “improved version of CDs” if you want, and they hold about 6 .5 times more than a normal CD.
9) BLU-RAY (BR)Yet another improved version of the optical disc and BR discs hold about 5 times more data than normal DVDs. But one thing to take note of – Most Blu-ray players are backward compatible, but the older devices are not forward compatible; A Blu-ray player is most likely able to read all CDs, DVDs, and BR. But the older CD players will not be able to read BR discs.
FLASH MEMORY STORAGEDifferent from the “usual memory”, flash memory actually retains the data even without power. They used to be pretty expensive in the old days and are reserved for very specialized fast data storage. But thanks to technology, they have become very affordable and common these days.
10) FLASH DRIVEA modern-day staple and you should have seen one of these before. These are also commonly called the “pen drive” or “thumb drive”, depending on where you are in the world.
11) MEMORY CARDSAnother modern-day staple. There are many different types of memory cards, but they are all flash memory at the heart:
12) SOLID STATE DRIVE (SSD)SSDs are the so-called “later versions” of hard disks. But instead of using magnetic platters, SSD is one solid circuit board full of memory chips. Thus, they are rightfully called “solid-state” because they have zero moving parts. The “no mechanical parts” design makes SSDs very popular and suitable for mobile laptops and tablets – They save a ton of space, are lightweight, and they are immune to shakes (shock proof).
13) M.2 SSD
NETWORK STORAGEAfter the Internet boom sometime in the 2000s, several networks and Internet-based storage solutions rose to fame.
14) NETWORK-ATTACHED STORAGE (NAS)The NAS is actually nothing more than an enclosure… It’s just a box that has wireless capabilities. Put a hard disk or plug a flash drive into the enclosure, and it becomes automatically shared on the wireless network. All devices connected to the wireless network can then access those storage devices. Pretty cool.
15) CLOUD STORAGECloud storage is not a device, but rather, storing data on the Internet… If you trust the Internet enough. Here are a few good free cloud storage providers:
PAPER STORAGEWhat!? Paper can be used to store data as well? Yes, and you have probably already used it before. Paper is actually one of the oldest data storage media, and it is still very much still in use today.
16) BARCODESThere are many different types of barcodes, and you have probably seen these everywhere – In newspapers, posters, publications, and products.
Scan one of these, and they will give you a serial number, a promo code, or even a website address. An alternate way to think of barcodes is “alphabets for the machines”.
17) PUNCH CARDThis is an ancient way to record data. This is a piece of paper with printed numbers, time slots, and/or alphabets – Just punch a hole on the appropriate one. These are probably still in use at some factories or restaurants for timekeeping.
18) OPTICAL MARK READING (OMR)Remember these “shade the circles” papers you get in examinations? The multiple-choice-questions? That is called optical mark reading (OMR), and it works pretty much the same as punch cards. Except that you shade the slot instead of punching a hole.
USEFUL BITS & LINKSThat’s all for this guide, and here is a small section on some extras and links that may be useful to you.
INTERNAL VS EXTERNAL STORAGE
Yep. It’s that straightforward.
PRIMARY, SECONDARY, AND TERTIARY STORAGE
BITS & BYTESFor you folks who do not already know:
So yep – That is a lot of zeros when it comes to data storage.
LINKS & REFERENCES
THE ENDThank you for reading, and we have come to the end of this guide. I hope that this has helped you to better understand the world of digital storage, and if you have anything to share with this guide, please feel free to comment below. Good luck and may the digital force be with you. Which device is storage device?Computer Storage Device Definition: A hardware device which can be used to store digital data and applications which may be in the form of images, video, audio, etc. is called a storage device. It is a key component of a computer and the hard drive is one of its examples.
What are the 3 types of storage media?There are three main categories of storage devices: optical, magnetic and semiconductor. The earliest of these was the magnetic device. Computer systems began with magnetic storage in the form of tapes (yes, just like a cassette or video tape).
What is the main storage medium?Primary storage is often referred to as “memory” and is classified as either volatile or non-volatile. Volatile memory such as RAM loses data as soon as the device loses power. The flash memory in solid-state drives (SSDs) is non-volatile because the data remains in storage even after you have turned it off.
What are 4 examples of storage media?Examples of such media include (a) magnetic disks, cards, tapes, and drums, (b) punched cards and paper tapes, (c) optical disks, (d) barcodes and (e) magnetic ink characters.
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