The technology is very extensive and has evolved over time. Today we are going to talk a little about the issue of data storage devices and their transformations to this day. There are several types and classes of these tools, which can be found in the market and allow you to save each of the data you need .
However, there are also secondary storage units where the information needed inside is stored. Such is the case of memory cards, flash drives, hard drives, CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays .
That is why when you need to store your computer data you can use these options, which are essential elements today, because more and more are being updated so that the user protects > any project or activity you execute, as well as your files.
What is a computer storage device and what is it for?
Storage devices are capable of transcribing and saving information in order to store it. Motivated to the large portion of information that users currently handle, storage devices are a piece as fundamental or almost the same as a computer.
These devices are those by means of which any type of data is stored in a memory, doing this that facilitates the exchange of information, as well as its distribution in any type of equipment that is had. They are also instruments that provide security when saving data.
It is then that through these devices you can perform different types of functions and apart from using each of the benefits they provide to protect data or programs temporarily and even permanently. Reason is why can be used with media that perform this same function .
This way of saving data has always been present in the world of technology, since man has always liked to store his files so that future generations can use them .
Giving information to others is to eternalize history as well as people’s experiences, which is why data storage has always existed, so this has played a fundamental role throughout the history of technology. In that sense, it is undeniable that it is one of the keys to computer development , making things last over time.
What are the main types of storage devices in computing?
These storage media are essential in computer science, since, as mentioned above, they help to save data from the files that you think are important to you. It should be noted that the same can be stored by users or by an application . That is why you should know the different types, so you can select the most suitable for you.
Magnetic
It is one of the oldest devices and that users have used in abundance. Its great benefit is that with them you can store a lot of information in just a small volume.
Also, this guard is executed through “magnetic dipoles” that are on the surface , being the most used and even more so-called external hard disk.
This type of device is one of the most used today, since they allow a large part of the information to be managed. Which means that you can have a lot of information in a very small physical space .
Optical
This device is for storing multimedia files, such as: videos, songs or photos. Also, are used to save programs and applications and even games. Such data is stored using a laser beam that has high accuracy.
Within these devices we can find:
- DVD
- CD
- DVD-RW
- Blu-Ray
- CD-ROM
- DVD-ROM
- CD-RW
These devices store a lot of information and are used by users constantly, since they can be easily obtained at any store where they sell electronic devices. Apart from storing movies, music and images, they are also used to store computer programs .
On the other hand, this type of device performs its reading through a means of storage with laser beam, where the surface is stored by microscopic ditches that project the laser in different directions. Your information is represented by bits .
Electronic
It is a new way of saving information, where electronic circuits are used that store the information. They can be obtained through pendrive or memory cards, which are widely used by users for different purposes.
They are easy to use, so they are very popular , although we must say that they have a somewhat limited storage capacity as a small device.
They are usually used on computers, digital cameras and mobile phones . They are known as SSD (Solid State Drive).
These do not have moving parts , because they are only composed of electronic circuits that do not need to be mobilized to be able to record or read the information.
How the disks are stored?
A computer is used to store the data of the files in “clusters” found on the hard drive . This is a part that has a circular shape and where certain data is found.
The aforementioned data that can be stored in the clusters will depend on the operating system . For example, when you have an FAT16 operating system, your cluster is 32 KB; UNIX has 1 KB of cluster; and the FAT32 has 32 cluster of 4 KB.
All this will depend on the size of the cluster and the hard disk . But clusters that are small make data archived better.
Generally, the moment a file is stored in the cluster will be the only one stored in that location. That is why the computer keeps track of the address of the saved file, making it possible for this to tell the computer where the data is stored.
It is then that if a document has about 2 KB it will be saved in the FAT16 operating system, so it will have 32 KB of space available.
Evolution of computer storage devices How were they before and how are they now? ?
Data storage has evolved over the years, undergoing very obvious changes to replace those punch cards that were used in the past, so is now known as cloud storage .
Saving information years ago was extremely difficult, since if we wanted to save a photo, video or any type of document that was not so heavy, we had to divide the files and save them on multiple disks .
There were some where saving the information was much more complicated , however today we are lucky that this is already behind.
Computer storage devices have been modified over time, since years ago normally used punch cards were used to save data and even transmit it.
Now, this technique began to be used in the 50s , where some 960 b could be stored, through card perforations that were represented by zeros (0), unlike spaces that were not perforated, that were represented with some (1).
On the other hand, the magnetic tapes were worth 10,000 punched cards , being able to have an extension of between 2,400 and 4,800 feet, so it could be stored from 5 to 10 MB.
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Also, we found the 5.25-inch floppy disks , which evolved rapidly because users used them constantly because they were portable. These could store about 1.2 MB. While 3.5-inch hard drives , they were popular because of their laptop mix and because they are long lasting, so they could store about 1.44 MB.
Subsequently, at the beginning of the 90s, the CDs began to be released, where much more data could be stored than a floppy disk. But at the end of those years the ZIP disk appeared, where it could be stored between 100 and 750 MB. Then, the Flash drives appeared, with which they could be stored between 8 MB and 256 GB, being a great development for the technology.
Also, the portable hard drives appeared, so that the user could store between 25 GB and 4 TB , and which were extremely essential to be able to make file backups that were large, just like the videos are.
Finally, today we have the cloud storage , where you can save any type of information or file through the cloud.
Currently, practicality is widely used and the number of data that can be stored has been limited. The different types of storage that are in the clouds have made it possible to access our files wherever we are , for which you only have to have an Internet connection.
This cloud runs remotely, although if you want to have much more space you should look for a paid version, and thus have unlimited storage .