TITLE PAGE

STUDENT NAMES & ID NUMBERS:

ASA CHARLES- 816009647

CARLENE MOHAMMED- 816008932

MAYA COOPER- 816007320

VINESHA RAMJIT- 816007863

TITLE:

ADVANCEMENT IN PHYSICAL STORAGE DEVICES; Storage vs Capacity

CONTRIBUTION TO THE RELATIVE COMPONENTS OF THE

PROJECT:

MICROSOFT WORD REPORT: Maya Cooper

MICROSOFT EXCEL SPREADSHEET: Asa Charles and Carlene Mohammed

MICROSOFT POWERPOINT PRESENTATION: Vinesha Ramjit

WEBSITE: Organized by Asa Charles with info from all group members

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE NUMBER

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………....………….…. 1

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………… 2-3

DISCUSSION……………………………………………………………………....…4-8

CONCLUSION…………………………………………….………………………….9

REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………...…10

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ABSTRACT

A physical storage device is any type of hardware media external to a computer system that is

capable of holding data usually in binary form. Storage devices can be categorized as primary or

secondary, read or write, magnetic, flash or optical and external or portable (removable).

The purpose of the report is to evaluate the types of physical storage devices from past to present

and describe a noticeable trend in terms of their size and storage capacity. The methodology that

would be implemented in order to gain academic research pertaining to the topic is by the use of

secondary sources. That is, online articles, books, research papers would be utilized to generate

information.

A theoretical analysis, backed by observations of their relative size and storage capacity,

indicates that physical storage devices have decreased in size while its storage capacity has had a

significant increase. This can be exemplified in comparing the initial magnetic tape storage

device to a flash drive which serves as the most convenient form of portable storage.

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INTRODUCTION

A storage device is any hardware component that is capable of storing information and

extracting data files and objects. It can hold information both temporarily and permanently and

can also operate internal or external to a computer system. Storage can be grouped into two

categories; primary and secondary storage devices.

Primary storage is also referred to as the main memory and are designed to hold data

within the computer temporarily and are internal to the computer. This type of storage is usually

small in size and limited in its storage capacity but have fast access speeds. Additionally,

primary storage devices are volatile, meaning it requires a supply of power to maintain the

information stored. Examples include; Random Access Memory (RAM) and cache memory.

Secondary storage devices can hold a significantly larger amount of storage capacity

relative to primary storage devices and is utilized to store data and information on a permanent

basis so it can be accessed for later use. Secondary storage can be both internal and external to

the computer, as well as, removable. These devices are non-volatile and the information is

maintained even in the absence of power. This type of storage can be further classified as being;

magnetic, flash, optical, cloud or online and paper. Examples include hard disk, compact disk

drive and USB storage device.

The amount of data and instructions that can be stored on secondary storage is measured

in terms of bytes. A byte is made up of a combination of eight bits and has the storage power to

represent one character. Common storage units are kilobyte (KB), megabyte (MB), gigabyte

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(GB) and terabyte (TB) which correspond to 1 thousand, 1 million, 1 billion and 1 trillion

characters respectively.

The purpose of this research is to outline the advancement in physical storage devices in

terms of their comparative storage and capacity sizes. Therefore, emphasis would be placed on

secondary storage devices.

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DISCUSSION

With the evolution of technology, data storage technology has completely transformed

and updated from its initial model of the Magnetic Tape in 1928 to its most modern form

referred to as the cloud data storage. It is evident that with technological advancements, the size

of physical storage devices decreased while the storage capacity increased. These improved

features made physical storage devices portable, increased its storage capability and more

reliable.

The magnetic tape was invented by Fritz Pfleumer and

functions as a digital recording storage device. This technology

has a storage capacity of about 48 kilobytes per inch and allows

data to be written and erased repeatedly without a loss in quality.

The average dimensions of a tape would range from 0.5 inches

wide and 2000ft in length. Over time these large magnetic tapes were modified into smaller,

portable cassettes which utilizes the same magnetic film mechanism and function.

Hard disks were introduced in 1956 and featured a rigid, metal

sheet which contained one or more rotating disk layered

in a thin magnetic material. They are read and

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write once technologies per disk which stores

and retrieves digital information. A typical hard disk would generally have a capacity of 10-40

gigabytes of information and are usually incorporated in most computer systems as the primary

storage device. They are usually the largest hardware device on which the operating system and

application programs are stored. A drawback of such physical storage device is that if these files

are mistaken deleted or corrupted they cannot be retrieved or restored. Their physical sizes are

relative to the type of computer it is being utilized in. Generally, a 2.5-inch drive is used in

personal computers such as laptops while a 3.5-inch drive is used in desktop computers.

In the 1970’s the floppy disk or the diskette emerged which featured a removable, 8-inch

disk made of a coated magnetic material enclosed in a flexible, protective hard plastic. The

floppy disk is comprised on concentric tracks which are subdivided into sectors. Each sector

contains magnetized spots which convert data into useful information. The standard 8-inch

floppy disk could only store 80KB and was read-only, however, it was deemed large in size for

desktop computers which led to the development of smaller, more portable floppy disks which

had an average size of 3.5 inch and a more protective metal covering. A floppy disk can hold up

to 1.44 megabytes of data, but before this is used it must be formatted.

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Optical disks utilize laser lights which burn patterns of pits and lands to encode data. The

most popular and inexpensive forms of optical disks are CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW and DVD.

Compact Disk Read-Only Memory, more generically known as CD-ROMS have a capacity of

700 megabytes and has an average diameter of 120 millimeters. These flat and flexible disks are

read-only and do not allow for re-writing by the user. Because of their large storage capacity

which is 500 to 700 times that of a floppy disk, they are usually used to store multimedia such as

video, audio and text which are sold or packaged.

CD-R which stands for Compact Disk Recordable are write once technologies which

allows data to be inputted using a CD burner. This 120 mm disk has a storage capacity of 650

megabytes of data. CD-RW or Compact Disk Rewriteable allows data to be written as well as

erased multiple times. Their large storage capacity facilitates immense volumes of information

such as text, graphics, sounds and video.

In 1995, the next generation of optical disk storage evolved. The Digital Storage Device,

more commonly known as the DVD is relatively similar to the CD-R disk, the only difference

being its larger storage capacity of 4.4 to 17 gigabytes.

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Pits created by lasers in DVDs are much smaller and more

compactly structured allowing for a greater volume of

information to be held. Some versions of DVD are also

double sided which allows a significant increase in capacity.

These disks were practically used for storing movies, sounds and

videos.

In the 1990s, a durable, portable storage device was designed to store 100 to 750

megabytes. These drives were commonly used to back up important information whether it be

internal or external. Zip drives were inexpensive and small in size which allowed easy movement

of files from one computer to another. They were considered the first flash devices.

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In 1999, the USB Flash Drive was indoctrinated into the family of physical storage devices.

Flash drives are the most preferred method of portable storage due to its lack of moving parts,

low power consumption, light-weight design and storage capabilities of about 8 GB to 64 GB.

The largest commercial storage capacity available in a flash drive is 1 TB (1024 GB) capacity.

There are solid state storage devices which contain non-volatile memory chips on which

data is stored in sections referred to as blocks. These can be written and rewritten to an unlimited

extent and due to its capacity these drives are used to store large amounts of files, such as

movies, videos and programs.

In the early 20th century, the Secure Digital (SD) cards were produced and featured a

significant decrease in size and proficient capacity. The standard card measures 32 millimeters

by 32 millimeters by 2.1 millimeters in size. The average capacity can range from 2 GB to 2 TB

of information and are classed based on quality of audio and video storage. Due to its inherent

ability the SD card is utilized in almost all portable electronic devices, especially in photography

and videography.

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Throughout the time period, it can be seen that the storage capacity steadily increased

from kilobytes to megabytes to gigabytes and terabytes and they also reduced in size making the

various storage medias easily portable and more efficient. The physical devices at present is now

being replaced by virtual storage which is more accessible in a portable format such as the

holographic (PDF) and the cloud data storage. Technology and data is rapidly growing and so is

data storage technology.

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CONCLUSION

Physical Storage devices have undergone drastic modification from since their origin in

1928 to present. In recent years, devices smaller than the size of a human hand can contain

terabytes of data and information such as the Flash Drive and SD card. A common trend can be

easily observed throughout the advancements, as the years progress the size of the storage device

decreases to allow for easier portability. Adversely the actual capacity of the storage devices

increase as the size decreases due to progress in technology. Thus a new generation of efficient

and cost effective technology is produced which allows for the movement of large amounts of

information with ease.

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REFERENCES

Study.com. Accessed April 16, 2018. https://study.com/academy/lesson/magnetic-tape-for-data-storage-history-definition.html.

"Advances in Data Storage Technology: A Timeline." Zetta. Accessed April 16, 2018. https://www.zetta.net/about/blog/history-data-storage-technology.

Fisher, Tim. "What Is a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) and What Does It Do?" Lifewire. Accessed April 16, 2018. https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-hard-disk-drive-2618152.

Fisher, Tim. "What Is a Flash Drive?" Lifewire. Accessed April 16, 2018. https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-flash-drive-2625794.

Gloag, David. "Data Storage Devices - Definition & Types." Study.com. Accessed April 16, 2018. https://study.com/academy/lesson/data-storage-devices-definition-types.html.

Mearian, Lucas. "Data Storage -- Then and Now." Computerworld. March 14, 2014. Accessed April 16, 2018. https://www.computerworld.com/article/2473980/data-storage-solutions/data-storage-solutions-143723-storage-now-and-then.html#slide1.

PromptCloud Follow. "The Evolution of Data Storage Devices." LinkedIn SlideShare. June 30, 2016. Accessed April 16, 2018. https://www.slideshare.net/promptcloud/the-evolution-of-data-storage-devices.

"Storage Device." Computer Hope. March 01, 2018. Accessed April 16, 2018. https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/stordevi.htm.

"Storage Devices." Computer Science GCSE GURU. Accessed April 16, 2018. https://www.computerscience.gcse.guru/theory/storage-devices.

"What Is a Storage Device? - Definition from Techopedia." Techopedia.com. Accessed April 16, 2018. https://www.techopedia.com/definition/1119/storage-device.

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