BUS610: Business Intelligence and Analytics

Types of Storage Media

Storage media is the hardware in which information is physically stored. This differs from the storage device which is usually the docking bay for the storage medium. One example of a storage device would be your CD/DVD drive in which you place your disks when inserting them into your computer or your USB flash drive reader. Storage media would be the actual CD/DVD disk itself or the memory within your computer known as RAM (Random Access Memory). Storage media can be internal or external meaning that it can be either hard-wired to the computer (ex. hard drive) or it can be a separate physical storage facility thats meant to be more mobile, (ex USB Flash Drive). Internal storage media is usually faster since it is hard-wired to the desktop or laptop and does not requires any extra space outside of the computer. On the other hand, external media is very mobile, can be transferred from one computer to another rather quickly, and is easily secured in a safe place separate from your main working station. On top of this the Non-Volatility of these storage medias have made them very valuable. Normally when a computer is shut down, any unsaved information is wiped clean from the RAM. Or if the information isn't being used, while the computer is still on, the RAM may delete it to make room for processes being recalled more frequently. Storage media on the other hand, saves data despite the computer being powered down and can only be deleted by the user. From this, storage media such as flash drives and data CD's are more commonly used for the user's wants and needs.

Magnetic Hard Drive

Bouncing Wave or ASE from a Laser Disk

Storage Technology usually comes in three forms; magnetic, optic, and solid state. Some common magnetic storage systems are hard drives, floppy disks, and cassette tapes. Though cassette tapes don't work with computers, they use the same technology. This type of technology stores binary code using polar alignments on the magnetic medium and can change those alignments as needed when information is altered, deleted, or rewritten. The magnet does this by converting the binary code from 1's and 0's to positive and negative charges, respectively, which are recorded on an iron oxide film inside the media. Optics use laser beams which rely on marking the media. In this case, lasers burn in lines of data which represent the binary code it is converting. "Rewritable" media has also become a popular choice for those who want to reuse the same disk. Rewritable media relies on changing the reflectivity of the media instead of scarring it. When the binary number 1 is recognized, the laser alters the reflection of the discs surface in certain spots. Data is then separated by the pits in between reflectivity which represent the binary number 0 so that 1's alter the reflection and 0's leave the reflection of the media as is. This creates a "bouncing-wave" like appearance on the surface of the disk called an Amplified Spontaneous Emission or ASE for short. Solid State Drives, or SSD's as they are called, do not contain any moving parts such as lasers or magnetic heads. They operate electronically by storing the binary code as electrons which are either trapped or not trapped inside the flash memory cells within the unit. These types of media tend to be faster than the other two since they rely on electrical polarity within a cell instead of electronic motors to be read or rewritten. This also makes them more resistant to shock, allows them to run more quietly, and reduces the latency of the media. Typical storage media of this kind are "jump" drives or "thumb" drives, but some computers use this technology in their hardware as well.