PRIMARY/SECONDARY STORAGE

Firstly..

What is primary storage?

Primary storage, also known as main storage or memory, is the area in a computer in which data is stored for quick access by the computer's processor.

What type of memory is primary storage?

Random Access Memory (RAM) and cache are both examples of a primary storage device.

What is the primary storage of a computer?

In this case, primary storage typically refers to random access memory (RAM) ,however, commonly called "memory," is considered primary storage, since it stores data that is directly accessible by the computer's CPU.

What are the two main types of primary storage?

1 - Random Access Memory (RAM) – Volatile primary storage.

2 - Read Only Memory – Non-volatile primary storage.

Secondly..

What is the secondary storage?

Secondary storage device refers to any non-volatile storage device that is internal or external to the computer.

What are examples for the secondary storage?

Examples of secondary storage devices include external hard drives, USB flash drives, and tape drives.

Examples of secondary storage media include recordable CDs and DVDs, floppy disks, and removable disks, such as Zip disks and Jaz disks.

Why we need secondary storage?

Secondary storage therefore needed because it is non-volatile, meaning it retains its contents without the need for a power supply. It also has the large storage capacity needed to store the operating system and all the programs and files needed by a modern computer system.

What is secondary storage management?

Secondary storage management is a classical feature of database management systems. It is usually supported through a set of mechanisms. These include index management, data clustering, data buffering, access path selection and query optimization.

What are some examples for secondary storage device?

Some other examples of secondary storage technologies are flash memory (e.g. USB flash drives or keys), floppy disks, magnetic tape, paper tape, punched cards, standalone RAM disks, and Iomega Zip drives.

What are the types of secondary storage?

Currently the most common forms of secondary storage device are:

1) Floppy disks.

2) Hard disks.

3) Optical Disks.

4) Magnetic Tapes.

5) Solid State Devices.

Thirdly..

What are the hard disks?

The hard disk is a spindle of magnetic disks, called platters, that record and store information. Because the data is stored magnetically, information recorded to the hard disk remains intact after you turn your computer off

What are the types of the hard disks?

density, platters, tracks, sectors, cylinders, head crashes, internal, external, and performance enhancements

- Discussion about hard disks and its types

Hard disks are used to save files by altering the magnetic charges of the disks surface to represent 1s and 0s. They retrieve data and programs by reading the changes from a magnetic disk.

Density is referred to the tightness of the charges that can be packed next to one another on the disk. Hard disks use rigid metallic platters that are stacked on top of another. Tracks, sectors and cylinders are used by hard disks to store and organize files. Head crashed occurs when a read/write head makes contact with the hard disks surface or with particles of the surface. An internal hard disk is inside of the system unit that are able to store and retrieve large quantities of information. External hard drives have a fixed amount of storage and is a removable hard disk. Performance enhancements have three ways to improve the performance of the hard disks; disk caching, redundant arrays of inexpensive disks, and file compression/decompression.

- Discussion about SSD and HDD

What is SSD?

SSD is the short form of Solid State Drive. The reason why it is called that is because it does not have any moving part similar to a USB drive. In layman terms, you can call an SSD a very large and more sophisticated type of a USB. Like a memory stick, the information on the SSD is stored in the form of microchips. Moreover, instead of having the data being accessed by a mechanical arm, SSDs are able to access it directly from the microchip. This is the reason why the SSD is far speedier than the HDD as it requires less manual labor for getting information.

SSDs utilize NAND-based flash memory which is a non-volatile memory type. It can keep the data stored on it even after the disk has been turned off. While all types of permanent memory have this same feature, it had been rumored that the data stored on SSDs would be lost after a few years time. However, it isn’t true SSDs available today can keep the data stored for up to 200 years. An SSD has an embedded processor which is termed as a controller. It is used for performing various operations which are related to data reading and writing. The faster the controller is the faster are the data read and write speeds.

What is HDD?

HDDs are an older technology which was initially introduced by IBM almost 60 years ago. It is the abbreviation of Hard Disk Drive and it makes use of magnetism for the purpose of storing data. HDDs have a rotating platter that spins at high speeds while a read/write head is placed above it which reads and writes data on the spinning platter. The performance of an HDD is dependent on the spinning speed of its platter. The usual spinning range of HDD drives in use today is 5400 RPM to up to 7200 RPM. Sever-based platters can reach spinning speeds of up to 15000 RPM.

The thing that makes HDDs most suitable for data storage is that they are extremely cheap. They can store copious amounts of data and won’t cost you much either. The cost/GB of a HDD is far lower than that of an SSD. For instance, WD Black, a HDD, has a storage capacity of 1TB and is available for about $69 while Samsung 850 EVO, an SSD, having a capacity of 1TB can cost up to $319. So, if cheap storage is what you are looking for than HDDs are the best available option. There is no difference in looks of HDDs and SSDs. A 2.5-inch hard disk is typically used for laptops while a bigger 3.5-inch hard disk is suitable for desktops.