Data storage defined

There are fundamentally two types of digital information: input and output data. A users provides the input data and computers provide output data. But a computer's CPU can't compute anything or produce output data without the user's input. Users can enter the input data directly into a computer. However, they have found early on in the computer-era that continually entering data manually is time- and energy-prohibitive. One short-term solution is computer memory, also known as random access memory (RAM). But its storage capacity and memory retention are limited. Read-only memory (ROM) is, as the name suggests, the data can only be read but not necessarily edited. They control a computer's basic functionality.

Although advances have been made in computer memory with dynamic RAM (DRAM) and synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), they are still limited by cost, space and memory retention. When a computer powers down, so does the RAM's ability to retain data. The solution? Data storage.

With data storage space, users can save data onto a device. And should the computer power down, the data is retained. And instead of manually entering data into a computer, users can instruct the computer to pull data from storage devices. Computers can read input data from various sources as needed, and it can then create and save the output to the same sources or other storage locations. Users can also share data storage with others.

Today, organizations and users require data storage to meet today's high-level computational needs like big data projects, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and the internet of things (IoT). And the other side of requiring huge data storage amounts is protecting against data loss due to disaster, failure or fraud. So, to avoid data loss, organizations can also employ data storage as backup solutions.

How data storage works
Today, modern computers, or terminals, connect to storage devices either directly or through a network. Users instruct computers to access data from and store data to these storage devices. However, at a fundamental level, there are two foundations to data storage: the form in which data takes and the devices data is recorded and stored on.

Data storage devices

To store data, regardless of form, users need storage devices. Data storage devices come in two main categories: direct area storage and network-based storage.

Direct area storage, also known as direct-attached storage (DAS), is as the name implies. This storage is often in the immediate area and directly connected to the computing machine accessing it. Often, it's the only machine connected to it. DAS can provide decent local backup services, too, but sharing is limited. DAS devices include floppy disks, optical discs—compact discs (CDs) and digital video discs (DVDs)—hard disk drives (HDD), flash drives and solid-state drives (SSD).

Network-based storage allows more than one computer to access it through a network, making it better for data sharing and collaboration. Its off-site storage capability also makes it better suited for backups and data protection. Two common network-based storage setups are network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area network (SAN).

NAS is often a single device made up of redundant storage containers or a redundant array of independent disks (RAID). SAN storage can be a network of multiple devices of various types, including SSD and flash storage, hybrid storage, hybrid cloud storage, backup software and appliances, and cloud storage. Here are how NAS and SAN differ:

NAS

Single storage device or RAI
File storage system
TCP/IP Ethernet network
Limited users
Limited speed
Limited expansion options
Lower cost and easy setup

SAN

Network of multiple devices
Block storage system
Fibre Channel network
Optimized for multiple users
Faster performance
Highly expandable
Higher cost and complex setup

Types of storage devices

SSD and flash storage

Flash storage is a solid-state technology that uses flash memory chips for writing and storing data. A solid-state disk (SSD) flash drive stores data using flash memory. Compared to HDDs, a solid-state system has no moving parts and, therefore, less latency, so fewer SSDs are needed. Since most modern SSDs are flash-based, flash storage is synonymous with a solid-state system.

Hybrid storage

SSDs and flash offer higher throughput than HDDs, but all-flash arrays can be more expensive. Many organizations adopt a hybrid approach, mixing the speed of flash with the storage capacity of hard drives. A balanced storage infrastructure enables companies to apply the right technology for different storage needs. It offers an economical way to transition from traditional HDDs without going entirely to flash.

Cloud storage

Cloud storage delivers a cost-effective, scalable alternative to storing files to on-premise hard drives or storage networks. Cloud service providers allow you to save data and files in an off-site location that you access through the public internet or a dedicated private network connection. The provider hosts, secures, manages, and maintains the servers and associated infrastructure and ensures you have access to the data whenever you need it.

Hybrid cloud storage

Hybrid cloud storage combines private and public cloud elements. With hybrid cloud storage, organizations can choose which cloud to store data. For instance, highly regulated data subject to strict archiving and replication requirements is usually more suited to a private cloud environment. Whereas less sensitive data can be stored in the public cloud. Some organizations use hybrid clouds to supplement their internal storage networks with public cloud storage.

Forms of data storage

File storage

File storage, also called file-level or file-based storage, is a hierarchical storage methodology used to organize and store data. In other words, data is stored in files, the files are organized in folders and the folders are organized under a hierarchy of directories and subdirectories.

Block storage

Block storage, sometimes referred to as block-level storage, is a technology used to store data into blocks. The blocks are then stored as separate pieces, each with a unique identifier. Developers favor block storage for computing situations that require fast, efficient and reliable data transfer.

Object storage

Object storage, often referred to as object-based storage, is a data storage architecture for handling large amounts of unstructured data. This data doesn't conform to, or can't be organized easily into, a traditional relational database with rows and columns. Examples include email, videos, photos, web pages, audio files, sensor data, and other types of media and web content (textual or non-textual).

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Forms of data storage

File storage

There are three main forms data can be recorded and stored!

Block storage

Object storage

Data storage defined

There are two types of digital information: input and output data. Users provide the input data. Computers provide output data. But a computer's CPU can't compute anything or produce output data without the user's input.

Users can enter the input data directly into a computer. However, they have found early on in the computer-era that continually entering data manually is time- and energy-prohibitive. One short-term solution is computer memory, also known as random access memory (RAM). But its storage capacity and memory retention are limited. Read-only memory (ROM) is, as the name suggests, the data can only be read but not necessarily edited. They control a computer's basic functionality.

How data storage works

In simple terms, modern computers, or terminals, connect to storage devices either directly or through a network. Users instruct computers to access data from and store data to these storage devices. However, at a fundamental level, there are two foundations to data storage: the form in which data takes and the devices data is recorded and stored on.