Types of Storages.
External Hard Drive:
These are hard drives similar to the
type that is installed within a desktop computer or laptop computer. The
difference being that they can be plugged in to the computer or removed and
kept separate from the main computer. They typically come in two sizes.
Desktop
External Hard drive:
Uses a 3.5 inch hard drive similar to that used in
desktop computers.
Portable
External Hard drive:
Uses a 2.5 inch hard drive similar to
that used in laptops.
Desktop External Hard Drives are generally cheaper than
Portable External Hard Drives for the same storage space. Desktop External Hard
Drives and usually faster and more robust.
Capacity:
160GB to 3TB (approx. 3000GB)
Connection:
Most common connections to the computer are
through a USB 2.0 or USB3.0 connection. May also be available in a SATA or
eSATA connector
Advantages:
·
Very
good option for local backups of large amounts of data.
·
The
cheapest storage option in terms of dollars per GB.
·
Very
reliable when handled with care
Disadvantages:
·
Can
be very delicate.
·
May
be damaged if dropped or through electrical surge
Solid State Drive (SSD):
Solid State Drives look and function
similar to traditional mechanical/ magnetic hard drives but the similarities
stop there. Internally, they are completely different. They have no moving
parts or rotating platers. They rely solely on semiconductors and electronics
for data storage making it a more reliable and robust than traditional
magnetic. No moving parts also means that they use less power than traditional
hard drives and are much faster too. With the prices of Solid State Drives
coming down and is lower power usage, SSD’s are used extensively on
laptops and mobile devices. External SSD’s are also a viable option for
data backups.
Capacity:
64GB to 256GB
Connections:
USB 2.0/3.0 and SATA
Advantages:
·
Faster
read and write performance
·
More
robust and reliable than traditional magnetic hard drives
·
Highly
portable. Can be easily taken offsite
Disadvantages:
·
Still
relatively expensive when compared to traditional hard drives
·
Storage
space is typically less than that of traditional magnetic hard drives.
Network Attached Storage (NAS)
NAS are simply one or more regular IDE
or SATA hard drives plugged in an array storage enclosure and connected to a
network Router or Hub through a Ethernet port. Some of these NAS enclosures
have ventilating fans to protect the hard drives from overheating.
Advantages:
Very good option for local backups
especially for networks and small businesses. As several hard drives can be
plugged in, NAS can hold very large amounts of data can be setup with
Redundancy (RAID) increasing the reliability and/ or read and write
performance. Depending on the type of RAID level used, the NAS can still
function even if one hard drive in the RAID set fails. Or two hard drives can
be setup to double the read and write speed of single hard drive. The drive is
always connected and available to the network making the NAS a good option for
implementing automated scheduled backups.
Disadvantages:
·
Significantly
more expensive than using single External Hard Drives
·
Difficult
to bring offsite making it very much a local backup hence still susceptible to
some events like theft and floods, fire etc.
USB Thumb Drive or Flash Drive
These are similar to Solid State
Drives except that it is much smaller in size and capacity. They have no moving
parts making them quite robust. They are extremely portable and can fit on a
keychain. They are Ideal for backing up a small amount of data that need
to be brought with you on the go.
Capacity:
4GB to 64GB
Advantages:
·
The
most portable storage option.
·
Can
fit on a keychain making it an offsite backup when you bring it with you.
·
Much
more robust than traditional magnetic hard drives
Disadvantages:
·
Relatively
expensive per GB so can only be used for backing up a small amount of data
Optical Drive (CD/ DVD)
CD’s and DVD’s are ideal for storing a
list of songs, movies, media or software for distribution or for giving to a
friend due to the very low cost per disk. They do not make good storage options
for backups due to their shorter lifespan, small storage space and slower read
and write speeds.
Capacity
CD: 650MB to
900MB
Capacity
DVD: 4.7GB to
17.08GB
Advantages:
·
Low
cost per disk
Disadvantages:
·
Relatively
shorter life span than other storage options
·
Not
as reliable as other storage options like external hard disk and SSD.
·
One
damaged disk in a backup set can make the whole backup unusable.
Remote Storage Options
Cloud Storage:
Cloud storage is storage space on
commercial data center accessible from any computer with Internet access. It is
usually provided by a service provider. A limited storage space may be provided
free with more space available for a subscription fee. Examples of
service providers are Amazon S3, Google Drive and Sky Drive etc.
Advantages:
·
A
very good offsite backup. Not affected by events and disasters such as theft,
floods, fire etc
Disadvantages:
·
More
expensive than traditional external hard drives. Often requires an ongoing
subscription.
·
Requires
an Internet connection to access the cloud storage.
·
Much
slower than other local backups
Buses:
Connecting I/O to Processor and Memory.
Input/output
Buses:
Connecting I/O to Processor and Memory
·
A
bus is a shared communication link
·
It
uses one set of wires to connect multiple subsystems
·
Sometimes shared bus with memory, sometimes a separate I/O
bus
Advantages
Versatility:
·
New
devices can be added easily
·
Peripherals
can be moved between computer
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