Data Storage Technology Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts related to data storage technology.

Primary Storage

Storage that holds instructions and data for immediate CPU access, characterized by speed and volatility.

Secondary Storage

Storage that holds large quantities of data for long periods, characterized by non-volatility and lower cost.

Volatility

A measure of a storage device's ability to hold data over time; non-volatile retains data with no power, while volatile does not.

Access Time

The elapsed time required to complete one read or write operation in a storage device.

Data Transfer Rate

The speed at which data is read or written in a single read/write operation, often expressed in bytes per second.

Storage Medium

A device or substance on which data is stored, such as flash drives, magnetic disks, or optical discs.

Read/Write Mechanism

The device used to access and store data values on a storage medium.

Device Controller

An interface device that connects the storage device to the system bus.

Fragmentation

The condition where sectors of a single file become scattered across disk locations, reducing read/write performance.

Optical Disk

A storage medium that uses lasers and photodetectors to read and write data based on variations in reflectivity.

Masking

A technique used in magnetic storage where adjacent magnetic charges of opposite polarity cancel each other out.

Solid-State Drive (SSD)

A secondary storage device that uses flash memory to store data without moving parts, improving reliability.

Average Access Delay

The time required to move between two sectors on a disk, calculated based on system specifications.

Cloud-Based Storage

A service that manages large amounts of storage hardware in remote locations, syncing data with users' local devices.