Information carrier in computer technology

One of the most important issues that each computer owner faces is the following: "How to organize a reliable digital data warehouse?". Although modern information carriers are presented in a wide range, often the cost of many of them is too high for both businesses and home users. However, there is a solution. It is necessary to study what kinds of media are available and, taking into account the needs, choose the best option for the "cost / characteristics" parameter. And you need to take into account the durability of data security.

Let's start with the definition. The information carrier in computer technology is an object possessing the ability to store in some way or other the coded electronic vibrations transmitted to it, and also to provide the possibility of their repeated reading (reproduction) in its original form. The key features are:

- possibility (or impossibility) of repeated recording;

- the principle of preservation of information used;

- constructive differences and the total cost.

The most common storage medium in computers is a hard disk (hard drive, HDD). Its use makes it possible to create a high-speed storage of digital data and to provide constant access to them.

Inside the rectangular metal case are several rotating high-speed glass or plastic discs coated with magnetic spraying. During recording, special heads magnetize the surface in a certain way, and when reading, these magnetic field changes are captured and converted into electrical signals, in fact, receiving bit data. At present, this carrier of information is actively evolving, as manufacturers are increasingly offering hard drive variants with a completely different storage principle - based on flash memory. In the mass market segment, the interface for connecting these devices to the computer is Serial ATA and USB. The advantages of HDD are low cost in terms of gigabytes, high reliability and performance, versatility.

The next storage medium is an optical disk. The principle of recording is based on the creation of a laser beam of depressions in a bearing metal layer, from the outside of which there is a reflecting sputtering (substrate). With the reading command, the beam is positioned on the desired tracks (tracks), reflected from the substrate, focused by the lens and recorded by the photocell. Since the intensity of the process is directly dependent on the state of the surface, it allows one to obtain electrical binary discharges, that is, to read the recorded information.

Depending on the characteristics of the beam used, there are various types of CDs and devices for reading them (drives): CD with 740 MB of available capacity, DVD with 4.7 GB and Blu-Ray with 25 GB or more. A quality disc with accurate handling can store information for several decades, since it is not affected by magnetic fields. Read more about the technology of CDs on the Internet.

One of the most promising areas in the field of storage media is flash memory technology. Famous flash drives in mobile phones - these are the same devices. For computers, other external interfaces are used - USB and SATA. Winchesters with such memory are called solid-state drives. The implementation is quite simple: all such devices have a flash memory chip, the cells of which, unlike the usual RAM modules, are able to keep their state unchanged up to 10 years. In operation, the power consumption is negligible, since there are no moving parts, and reliability is maximized. The technology is constantly being improved.

There are also backup devices based on magnetic tape (the principle of operation is similar to the old tape cassettes). Capacity reaches 3 Tb.