CIS 106 Unit 8 Assessment
5.1 - 5.4
Common Storage Devices
Storage devices are an integral part of any computing system. The following table shows the
types of storage devices available:
Storage Description
Type
Hard disk A hard disk is a thick magnetic disk encased in a thicker protective
drive shell. Key facts are:
(HDD)
● A hard disk consists of several aluminum platters, each of which
requires a read/write head for each side.
● All read/write heads are attached to a single access arm to
prevent them from moving independently.
● Each platter has circular tracks that cut through all the platters in
the drive to form cylinders.
● The spinning of the platters is referred to as revolutions per
minute (RPM). The higher the revolutions per minute, the faster
the data can be accessed.
Standard hard drives are categorized as follow:
● 5400 rpm (inexpensive HDD)
● 7200 rpm (good quality HDD)
● 10,000 rpm (expensive HDD)
● 15,000 rpm (fast HDD)
Some advantages of hard disks are:
● They have large amounts of storage (starting at 16 GB up to
several TB).
● The cost per MB is cheap.
, CIS 106 Unit 8 Assessment
5.1 - 5.4
● There is a wide selection.
Some disadvantages of hard disks are:
● Many hard disks are internal devices, though you can get
external enclosures.
● They are prone to failure.
● They are vulnerable to physical damage (e.g., when dropped).
SCSI is a standard for transferring data between devices on internal
and external computer buses. Though SCSI devices are most
commonly used for tape storage devices and hard disks, they can also
be used for devices such as CD-ROM drives, scanners, and printers.
Solid state A solid-state drive is a flash device with a storage capacity similar to a
drive small hard drive. Solid state drives are used as replacements for hard
(SSD) disk drives for storing the operating system, applications, and data files.
Some advantages of solid-state drives include:
● They are faster than hard drives.
● They have no moving parts.
● They have lower power consumption than hard drives (good for
laptops).
● They are less susceptible to physical damage (from dropping)
and immune from magnetic fields.
● They are smaller and lighter than hard drives.
The main disadvantage currently for solid state drives is cost. They are
often more expensive than comparable hard drives. However, their
advantages make them a good choice, especially for portable devices.
Non-Volatile NVMe is a memory storage device designed to allow access to non-
Memory volatile storage media through a PCI express (PCIe) bus.
5.1 - 5.4
Common Storage Devices
Storage devices are an integral part of any computing system. The following table shows the
types of storage devices available:
Storage Description
Type
Hard disk A hard disk is a thick magnetic disk encased in a thicker protective
drive shell. Key facts are:
(HDD)
● A hard disk consists of several aluminum platters, each of which
requires a read/write head for each side.
● All read/write heads are attached to a single access arm to
prevent them from moving independently.
● Each platter has circular tracks that cut through all the platters in
the drive to form cylinders.
● The spinning of the platters is referred to as revolutions per
minute (RPM). The higher the revolutions per minute, the faster
the data can be accessed.
Standard hard drives are categorized as follow:
● 5400 rpm (inexpensive HDD)
● 7200 rpm (good quality HDD)
● 10,000 rpm (expensive HDD)
● 15,000 rpm (fast HDD)
Some advantages of hard disks are:
● They have large amounts of storage (starting at 16 GB up to
several TB).
● The cost per MB is cheap.
, CIS 106 Unit 8 Assessment
5.1 - 5.4
● There is a wide selection.
Some disadvantages of hard disks are:
● Many hard disks are internal devices, though you can get
external enclosures.
● They are prone to failure.
● They are vulnerable to physical damage (e.g., when dropped).
SCSI is a standard for transferring data between devices on internal
and external computer buses. Though SCSI devices are most
commonly used for tape storage devices and hard disks, they can also
be used for devices such as CD-ROM drives, scanners, and printers.
Solid state A solid-state drive is a flash device with a storage capacity similar to a
drive small hard drive. Solid state drives are used as replacements for hard
(SSD) disk drives for storing the operating system, applications, and data files.
Some advantages of solid-state drives include:
● They are faster than hard drives.
● They have no moving parts.
● They have lower power consumption than hard drives (good for
laptops).
● They are less susceptible to physical damage (from dropping)
and immune from magnetic fields.
● They are smaller and lighter than hard drives.
The main disadvantage currently for solid state drives is cost. They are
often more expensive than comparable hard drives. However, their
advantages make them a good choice, especially for portable devices.
Non-Volatile NVMe is a memory storage device designed to allow access to non-
Memory volatile storage media through a PCI express (PCIe) bus.
