Chapter 7

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary function of secondary storage in computing?

To store large amounts of data permanently. (correct)

To facilitate internet connectivity.

To process data more quickly than primary storage.

To manage volatile memory.

Which of the following is NOT an important characteristic of secondary storage?

Cost-effectiveness (correct)

Access speed

Capacity

Storage devices

What is a common feature of solid-state storage compared to traditional hard drives?

Higher energy consumption

Greater vulnerability to head crashes

Higher access speed (correct)

Larger physical size

Which of the following best defines RAID in the context of performance enhancements?

A method of improving read and write speeds through redundancy. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary purpose of cloud storage?

To enable remote access and sharing of data over the internet. Signup and view all the answers

What type of storage loses its content when the computer loses power?

Volatile storage Signup and view all the answers

Which characteristic measures how much data storage media can hold?

Capacity Signup and view all the answers

Which type of storage is characterized as permanent and nonvolatile?

Secondary storage Signup and view all the answers

In the context of hard disks, what does 'density' refer to?

How tightly charges can be packed on the disk Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a type of hard disk mentioned?

Portable Hard Drive Signup and view all the answers

What does disk caching help improve in terms of performance?

Access speed Signup and view all the answers

Which of these components are used to store and organize files on hard disks?

Tracks, sectors, and cylinders Signup and view all the answers

What type of storage is characterized as temporary and smaller in capacity?

Primary storage Signup and view all the answers

What is one primary advantage of using cloud storage services?

Ease of uploading and sharing files Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following devices is NOT classified as a mass storage device?

Robotic storage arms Signup and view all the answers

What does a Storage Area Network (SAN) provide to a user's computer?

Remote disk space access Signup and view all the answers

Which career requires skills in networking and security along with handling high-stress situations?

Disaster Recovery Specialist Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of RAID technology?

To improve storage capability and reliability Signup and view all the answers

What innovative methods are being explored for future data storage?

Heat, lasers, or DNA Signup and view all the answers

Which type of optical disc can be rewritten and erased multiple times?

RW or RAM Signup and view all the answers

How does optical storage represent data on a disc?

Through flat areas called lands and bumpy areas called pits Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes enterprise storage systems?

Designed for large-scale secondary storage needs Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of hybrid drives?

They combine solid-state storage with hard disks Signup and view all the answers

What is a common salary range for disaster recovery specialists?

$47 K to $97 K Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following optical disc formats has the largest storage capacity?

UHD BD Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a potential disadvantage of cloud storage?

Dependency on internet connectivity Signup and view all the answers

Which cloud storage service is provided by Apple?

iCloud Signup and view all the answers

What type of optical disc cannot be written to or erased?

ROM Signup and view all the answers

What is the main advantage of file compression?

Reduces file size for more efficient storage Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Secondary Storage

Secondary storage is nonvolatile. This means data is retained even when the computer is turned off.
Secondary storage is used for permanent storage of information.
Secondary storage has a larger capacity than primary storage.
Examples of secondary storage include hard disks, solid-state drives, optical disks, and cloud storage.

Learning Objectives

Students will learn to distinguish between primary and secondary storage.
Students will learn about the characteristics of secondary storage including storage media, capacity, devices, and access speed.
Students will learn to describe aspects of hard disks, including platters, tracks, sectors, cylinders, and head crashes.
Students will learn to compare internal and external hard drives.
Students will understand performance enhancements such as disk caching, RAID, file compression, and file decompression techniques.
Students will be introduced to different optical storage devices like CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs.
Students will learn about solid-state storage including solid-state drives (SSDs), flash memory, USB drives.
Students will understand cloud storage and cloud storage services.
Students will explore mass storage, mass storage devices, enterprise storage systems, and storage area networks (SANs).

Introduction

Data storage has expanded from simple text and numbers to digital music files, photos, videos, and more.
Secondary storage devices are needed to accommodate the increased amount of data.

Storage

Primary storage is volatile, meaning it loses data when the computer is turned off.
Primary storage is also temporary storage.
Random Access Memory (RAM) is an example of primary storage.
Secondary storage is nonvolatile; therefore data is saved persistently regardless of whether the computer is turned on or off.

Secondary Storage Characteristics

Media: Physical material that holds data and programs.
Capacity: Measurement of the amount of data a storage medium can hold.
Storage devices (drives): Hardware that reads and writes data to storage media.
Access speed: The time required to retrieve data from storage media.

Solid State Storage

Solid-State Drives (SSDs)
Flash Memory Cards
USB Drives

Hard Disks

Save files by altering magnetic charges on the disk's surface to represent 1s and 0s.
Use rigid metallic platters stacked on top of each other
Organized using tracks, sectors, and cylinders.
Density relates to the arrangement of these charges on the disk.
Tracks are rings, sectors are wedge-shaped sections of a track, and cylinders run through each track of a stack of platters.

Types of Hard Disks

Internal Hard Drive
External Hard Drive
Network Drive

Performance Enhancement Techniques

Disk caching: Stores frequently accessed data to improve access speed.
RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks): Improves storage capacity, speeds up access, and enhances reliability.
Hybrid drives: Combine solid-state drives with hard disks.
File compression/decompression: Reduces file size to save space and improves transfer speed.

Optical Disks

Use lasers to alter the surface of a plastic or metal disc to store data as ones and zeros (1s and 0s).
Store data on lands (flat areas) and pits (bumps) on the disc.
Types: CD, DVD, Blu-ray, etc.
Different formats have varying capacities.

Optical Disk Types

ROM (Read Only Memory): Cannot be written to or erased.
R (Recordable): Can only be written to once.
RW or RAM (Rewritable): Can be written to and erased multiple times.

Cloud Storage

Internet servers provide storage services as applications, rather than as physical products.
Users can store and share files using cloud providers (e.g., Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud).

Cloud Storage Comparison

Advantages and disadvantages of using cloud storage.

Making IT Work for You ~ Cloud Storage

How cloud storage simplifies file sharing and uploading.
Consider the following factors when choosing a Cloud service
What files will you store?
What tools will you use?
What hardware do you have?
How do you want to share files?

Mass Storage Devices

Enterprise storage systems, file servers, networked attached storage (NAS), RAID systems, organizational cloud storage, and SANs meet the needs of large organizations.
Support large amounts of data usage and provide secure data management using those methods.

Storage Area Network (SAN)

Links remote computer storage devices.
Allows efficient and secure access to data stored in remote locations.

Careers in IT

Disaster recovery specialists recover systems and data following disruptions
Required qualifications include relevant degrees and field experience.
Skills in networking, security, and database administration (DBA) are also necessary.
Salaries in this field generally range from 47,000to47,000 to 47,000to97,000 annually.

A Look to the Future

Future storage may use alternative technologies such as heat, lasers, or DNA.

Open Ended Questions

Questions to be answered regarding primary storage versus secondary storage, hard disks, solid-state storage, optical storage, cloud storage, mass storage, SANs.

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Description

This quiz explores the fundamental concepts of secondary storage, including its characteristics, capacity, and media types. Students will learn to differentiate between primary and secondary storage and understand various storage devices like hard disks and optical disks. Additionally, performance enhancements and comparisons between internal and external hard drives will be covered.