Question

trace the evolution of different type of storage devices plz help fast need urget

Answer 1

Data storage devices have evolved in leaps and bounds over the last two decades. According to Moore’s law, which is the observation that the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles approximately every two years, the fast development of storage devices is only going to get faster. Here we take a visual trip through some of the biggest leaps (as well as some falls) in the evolution of data storage.


Magnetic tape

As early as 1951, magnetic tape was being used in the UNISERVO system to store computer data. Although tape has largely been replaced by newer methods of data storage, it’s still used, especially for storing large amounts of data. This is because of its low cost. Modern magnetic tape is usually found in cassettes and cartridges, but initially tape was held on 10.5 inch open reels. This “de facto” standard for computer systems lasted all the way through to the 1980s, when smaller, less fragile data storage systems were introduced.

 

Floppy disk

This relic of data storage emerged in the mid-1970s. By the early 2000s, it was almost completely out of use, replaced by sturdier, higher capacity devices like USB flash drives. A floppy disk was composed of a thin, flexible magnetic disk inside a flat plastic cartridge and lined with a fabric designed to remove dust particles from the magnetic disk. Floppy disks were produced in three main sizes. The 8-inch disk stored 1 MB of data, the 5.25-inch disk stored 1.2 MB and the 3.5-inch disk stored 1.44 MB.

 

Optical disc

Optical discs, including CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, are flat, usually circular discs, generally consisting of a layer of reflective material (often aluminium) in a plastic coating. Data is stored on the discs in binary form, with binary values of 0 represented by “pits” and binary values of 1 represented by areas where the aluminium reflects light. Although still common, optical discs are currently being replaced by online data storage and distribution.


MiniDisc

Emerging in 1992 and completely out of production by 2013, the MiniDisc was similar in appearance to the 3.5-inch floppy disk. However, it included a sliding door that opened for reading upon insertion in a drive. Unlike optical discs and magnetic tape, the MiniDisc used a magneto-optical storage method that allowed for very fast location of data. However, especially in the earlier days, the data compression used by the disc format resulted in worse sound quality than CDs. Another contributor to the downfall of the MiniDisc was the introduction of MP3 players, which rapidly overtook physical media in popularity.

USB flash drive

A USB flash drive uses flash memory, which is non-volatile (meaning that it can get back stored data even after being powered off and then on again) and can be repeatedly erased and refilled with data – at least until the drive gets a corrupt sector. Flash drives are usually very small for the amount of data they carry. They have no moving parts and so aren’t highly susceptible to wear and tear, they’re cheap and they aren’t as prone to damage as optical discs. They also don’t rely on dedicated drives, instead using the standard USB ports included on all modern computers. Emerging into the market in late 2000, the earliest flash drives could store  8 MB of data. Today, flash drives that can store a terabyte of data are available. Right on track, according to Moore’s law.

Hard disk drive

Introduced by IBM in 1956 and dominant by the 1960s, the hard disk drive (HDD) is still the most common form of internal secondary data storage (whereas CPUs and RAM are considered primary storage) in computers. What made and keeps the HDD so popular is its high capacity, which far exceeds that of an average USB flash drive or DVD, and performance. Data on an HDD can be read and written relatively quickly. Magnetic heads read data off rapidly rotating rigid disks, also referred to as platters.

 

Solid-state drive


The solid-state drive, which emerged commercially in the late 2000s, stores less data than the HDD but offers vastly superior read and write speeds. Whereas the average HDD reads data at about 75 MB per second, entry-level solid-state drives can read data at up to 600 MB per second. Because they contain no moving parts, solid-state disks are also far less prone to damage.

 

Storage devices from PM&A

At PM&A we provide all the latest storage devices, as well as online backup and data storage solutions for businesses. In terms of hardware we provide access to all the biggest names in computer hardware – Mecer, Hewlett-Packard and Intel, to name a few.