Memory and storage system
Motivation
2
Data is stored on external storage devices and fetched
into main memory as needed for processing
Page/Block is unit of information read from or written
to disk.
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Classification of Physical Storage Media
3
Based on
speed with which data can be accessed
Cost per unit of data
Reliability
data loss on power failure or system crash
physical failure of the storage device
Can differentiate storage into:
volatile storage: loses contents when power is switched
off
non-volatile storage:
Contents persist even when power is switched off.
Includes secondary and tertiary storage, as well as
battery- backed up main-memory.
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Physical Storage Media
4
Cache – fastest and most costly form of storage; volatile;
managed by the computer system hardware.
Main memory:
fast access
generally too small (or too expensive) to store the entire
database
Volatile — contents of main memory are usually lost if a
power failure or system crash occurs.
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Physical Storage Media (Cont.)
5
Flash memory
Data survives power failure
Data can be written at a location only once, but location can
be erased and written to again
Reads are roughly as fast as main memory
But writes are slow (few microseconds), erase is slower
Cost per unit of storage roughly similar to main memory
Widely used in embedded devices such as digital cameras
Is a type of EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable
Read-Only Memory)
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Physical Storage Media (Cont.)
6
Magnetic-disk
Data is stored on spinning disk, and read/written
magnetically
Primary medium for the long-term storage of data
Data must be moved from disk to main memory for access,
and written back for storage
direct-access – possible to read data on disk in any order,
unlike magnetic tape
Survives power failures and system crashes
disk failure can destroy data, but is rare
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Physical Storage Media (Cont.)
7
Optical storage
non-volatile, data is read optically from a spinning disk
using a laser
CD-ROM (640 MB) and DVD (4.7 to 17 GB) most popular
forms
Write-one, read-many (WORM) optical disks used for
archival storage (CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R)
Multiple write versions also available (CD-RW, DVD-RW,
DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM)
Reads and writes are slower than with magnetic disk
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Physical Storage Media (Cont.)
8
Tape storage
non-volatile, used primarily for backup (to recover from
disk failure), and for archival data
sequential-access – much slower than disk
very high capacity
tape can be removed from drive storage costs much
cheaper than disk, but drives are expensive
Tape jukeboxes available for storing massive amounts of
data
hundreds of terabytes (1 terabyte = 109 bytes) to even
a petabyte (1 petabyte = 1012 bytes)
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Storage Hierarchy
9
Cost Cost
Speed
Speed
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Storage Hierarchy (Cont.)
10
primary storage: Fastest media but volatile (cache,
main memory).
secondary storage: next level in hierarchy, non-volatile,
moderately fast access time
also called on-line storage
E.g. flash memory, magnetic disks
Tertiary storage: lowest level in hierarchy, non-volatile,
slow access time
also called off-line storage
E.g. magnetic tape, optical storage
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Storage Devices
Storage devices are categorized by:
The method they use to access the information
The technology they use
Their location in the storage hierarchy
Their capacity and speed
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Sequential vs. Random Access Storage
Tape Drive – Floppy Disk Drive – Hard Disk –
sequential storage random-access storage random-access storage
Sequential – Storage devices that read and write data
in a serial (one after the other) fashion
Random-Access – Storage devices that read and write
data without going through a sequence of locations
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Storage Technologies: Magnetic and Optical
Magnetic Storage Optical Storage –
CD/DVD drive
Magnetic – Storage devices use disks or tapes that are
coated with magnetically sensitive material
Optical – Storage devices that use laser beams to read
patterns etched into plastic disks
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The Storage Hierarchy
The three levels of storage hierarchy are:
Online storage – Also called primary storage,
Near-online storage – Also called secondary storage,
Offline storage – Also called tertiary storage or
archival storage. Devices such as tape backup units store
data for archival purposes.
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Storage Capacity and Speed
Floppy Disk Hard Drive CD ROM / DVD
Capacity – 720 KB to Capacity – Up to 80 GB Capacity – CD-ROM 650
1.44 MB MB; DVD 17 GB
Access Time – 6 to 12ms
Access Time – 100ms Access Time – 80 to 800ms
A storage device’s performance is measured by:
Capacity – The number of bytes of data that a device can hold
Access Time – The amount of time, in milliseconds (ms), it takes
the device to begin reading data
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Thank You
30
Three levels of memory hierarchy
16
Principle: the closer the memory is to the CPU, the faster it is.
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CLASSIFICATION- BIG PICTURE
Registers
2ns
17 Cache (I, II, III)
Volatile SRAM
DRAM
Primary SDRAM
(Semiconductor – RAM EDRAM
chip). Main Memory
EDO
FLASH RAM
Memory Types &
Storage Devices PROM
Non-volatile EPROM
ROM EEPROM
Tape
Magnetic memory HD, Zip Disk
Secondary FDD
(Devices)
Optical
CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW
Memory DVD-ROM, DVD-R 5ms
DVD- RW
Storage Capacity
18
Every memory device has a storage capacity,
indicating the number of bytes it can hold
Capacities are expressed in various units:
Unit Symbol Number of Bytes
kilobyte KB 210 = 1024
megabyte MB 220 (over 1 million)
gigabyte GB 230 (over 1 billion)
terabyte TB 240 (over 1 trillion)
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Storage Capacity
19
[Link]. Unit Description
1 Kilobyte (KB) 1 KB = 1024 Bytes
2 Megabyte (MB) 1 MB = 1024 KB
3 GigaByte (GB) 1 GB = 1024 MB
4 TeraByte (TB 1 TB = 1024 GB
5 PetaByte (PB) 1 PB = 1024 TB
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Storage Capacity
20
1024 KB kilobyte 210
10242 MB megabyte 220
10243 GB gigabyte 230
10244 TB Terabyte 240
Petabyte
10245 PB 250
10246 EB Exabyte 260
Zettabyte
10247 ZB 270
10248 YB Yottabyte 280
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Storage Capacity
21
Is there anything bigger than a Yottabyte?
As of 2015, there are no approved standard sizes for anything
bigger than a Yottabyte. However, the two standards that have
been proposed are the Hellabyte or Brontobyte.
How many 4MB MP3 files can be stored in a 20 GB
HDD?
20*(1,024 / 4) =20* 256 4MB MP3 files.
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Memory
22
9278
9279 Main memory is
9280 divided into many
9281 memory locations (or
9282 cells)
9283
9284 Each memory cell has a
9285 numeric address, which
9286 uniquely identifies it
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Storing Information
23
Each memory cell stores a
9278 set number of bits
9279 10011010 (usually 8 bits, or one
9280 byte)
9281
9282 Large values are
9283 stored in consecutive
9284 memory locations
9285
9286
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Storing Information
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Memory Types
25
RAM (Random Access Memory)
Volatile and R/W by user
Two categories:
DRAM(Dynamic RAM)
Need to refresh
Slow and short life time
Less power consumption, less size and less expensive
SRAM(Static RAM)
No refresh
Faster more reliable
more expensive
often used only as a memory cache
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Address Space
28
Example 1
A computer has 32 MB of memory. How many
bits are needed to address any single byte in
memory?
Solution
The memory address space is 32 MB, or 225 (25 x 220).
This means you need log2 225 or 25 bits, to address each
byte.
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Address Space
29
Example 2
A computer has 128 MB of memory. Each word in this
computer is 8 bytes. How many bits are needed to address
any single word in memory?
Solution
The memory address space is 128 MB, which means 227.
However, each word is 8 (23) bytes, which means that you
have 224 words. This means you need log2 224 or 24 bits, to
address each word.
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Address Space
29
Example 2
A computer has 128 MB of memory. Each word in this
computer is 8 bytes. How many bits are needed to address
any single word in memory?
Solution
The memory address space is 128 MB, which means 227.
However, each word is 8 (23) bytes, which means that you
have 224 words. This means you need log2 224 or 24 bits, to
address each word.
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Magnetic Hard Disk Mechanism
30
NOTE: Diagram is schematic, and simplifies the structure of actual disk drives
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Components of a Disk
Spindle
Tracks
Disk head
The platters spin (say, 90rps).
The arm assembly is Sector
moved in or out to position
a head on a desired track.
Tracks under heads make
a cylinder (imaginary!). Platters
Arm movement
Only one head
reads/writes at any
one time.
Arm assembly
Block size is a multiple
of sector size (which is fixed).
Top view
32
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Top view
33
Track one
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Top view
34
2 3
Sector one 1 4
8 5
7 6
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Filesystems
• Files are managed within a “filesystem”
• The filesystem defines how and where files are stored
within a hard disk (or partition)
• Common filesystems include:
• FAT16 (MSDOS)
• VFAT (Windows 95)
• FAT32 (Windows 98)
• NTFS (Windows NT)
• UFS (UNIX)
• ext2/ext3 (Linux)
• ISO9660 (CD Roms)
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Filesystems
• When a disk is formatted, a filesystem is placed on the disk
• The filesystem reserves space for the FAT.
• The remaining space is available for files
• When a file is to be saved into the filesystem, the system
looks for the best location to save the file
• It is usually best to save the file in contiguous blocks.
• If the disk is nearly full, it may not have enough
contiguous blocks to save the file. In that case, the
filesystem will place the file wherever it can find space.
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37
A journey by byte
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Open a Hard Disks
Draw the scamatic diagram along with its
componentsof a HDD
Slide 38 01-Nov-22
39
Thank you
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