Data Storage

Data storage refers to the information we access on our computers everyday or have archived or stored away from the computer. Every time you open a file stored on your hard drive, you are accessing data. Every time you put a disc into your computer to play music or video, you are accessing data. For some people, the storage capacity on their hard drive is enough and other than backing up their data, they don’t have to worry about data storage. But for others and especially larger companies, data storage is of primary importance.

There are many different kinds of data storage from which to choose. The amount of data you need to store is a factor when choosing the type of data storage for your needs. For instance, for a small amount of data and small-sized files, a compact disc may work perfectly well for your data storage. You may very well choose more than one kind of data storage depending upon the size of the data to be stored.

The flash drive is a relatively new kind of data storage. Some flash drives only hold a small amount of data and, surprisingly and conveniently, can be worn around the neck. Others can hold several gigabytes.

Optical disc storage is one mode of data storage that most people are familiar with. Almost anyone familiar with computers has accessed data that was stored on a CD. Some have even stored their own data that way.

Online storage is becoming more popular as more and more online companies are offering this service.

Aside from storing your data on your computer’s hard drive, you can also purchase an external hard drive. That way, if something were to happen to your computer, your external hard drive would not be affected.

One advantage is that you have many options when faced with the need for data storage solutions. You can look at all of them and choose the one that best meets your needs for keeping your data safe and readily accessible. It is especially important to know ahead of time how much data storage you are going to need, as well as how long you will need the data stored in order to make an informed decision.

Some of us still have computers with these dinosaurs in them but most new computers today don’t come with a floppy disc drive. However, there are still a lot of floppy discs out there that contain a lot of data. The older 5.25” floppy discs haven’t been seen in quite a while, however the smaller 3.5” floppy discs aren’t obsolete yet. They hold approximately 1.44 mgs of data and have been used by millions of individuals to back up the information on their hard drives.

Floppy discs were also great to use for school assignments. Some teachers would provide the lessons on one floppy disc and then you were to use your own personal floppy to record your work onto. Then the entire class would simply turn in their floppy discs to the teacher and she would be able to insert each disc into her computer and easily grade the work of all the students in a matter of moments. Back when most files were smaller and there were less graphics to contend with, this kind of data storage was perfectly acceptable. In fact, some self-paced classes still operate this way.

Homework or schoolwork is just one way the floppy disc was used. You could record any kind of data from your computer onto them. The discs started out in black and gray colors but soon fun and bright colors were being manufactured and floppy disc storage boxes were on every computer user’s desk.

Although it sounds ominous, almost everyone has used optical disc storage in one form or fashion. Any time you have accessed a program or data on a CD, you have used this form of data storage. You may have even chosen to store your own data on CDs or DVDs.

We’re accessing data that someone else has stored when we purchase a pre-recorded CD which we often do when we buy a program or a lesson on CD. Then there are also the millions of music CDs that have been purchased over the years.

At some time after we became used to purchasing and using data on CDs, the manufacturers of these data storage devices made it possible for us to record and store our own data on the CDs so they came out with CD-R and CD-RW blank discs. These are still very popular data storage devices today, and most likely will be for some time to come. With the CD-R disc, we might record music or some such data that we wish to keep forever. With the CD-RW disc, we can record different data over and over.

We use these methods of data storage for many different kinds of data from games and music to the most important information on our hard drives.

Only a few years behind CDs came the DVD which we associate with a movie that comes pre-recorded. Most computers today come with at least the option to have a DVD drive and some have the DVD-R drive which is just like the CD-R drive except of course for DVDs.

Now, we can not only back up our hard drives using DVDs but also record movies onto blank DVD-R discs.

This method of data storage has proven to be easy and reliable not to mention cost effective for the business owner as well as the individual.

Perhaps the most common type of data storage that all computer users use every day is the hard disc storage or hard drive on their computer. Hard drives have grown over the years to have the capacity to store large amounts of data compared to the relatively small amount of data a hard drive could store when personal computers first came on the market.

When we first started using PCs at home, the hard drives weren’t big enough to hold all our data so we immediately stored a lot of our data on floppy discs. Today, though for the individual as well as the small business owner, the hard drive is often big enough to store all of our data without the need for external data storage.

Even if we can store all of our data on our computer’s hard drive without the use of external storage solutions, it is very dangerous to do so. That’s akin to putting all our eggs in one basket and what happens when we drop the basket? Our eggs break. That’s what happens to our data when we keep it all on our hard drive and our hard drive crashes? It’s gone - forever.

The whole idea behind data storage solutions is preserving our data so if something should happen to it in one place, we can find it in another place. It’s like keeping important papers in a safety deposit box because our house might catch on fire. It’s not that we expect our house to catch fire, but if it does, we are prepared in that we have all of our important papers at another location.

In the same way, we don’t spend every day expecting our hard drives to crash, but if they do, we should be prepared by being able to access our data using a different means. Data storage is all about being prepared, and that preparedness gives us peace of mind. Though in your lifetime you many only need to access alternate data storage equipment in emergencies once or twice, you will be glad that you have it there when an emergency does arise.

Not many people begin using zip drives today for their data storage needs but this method is still in use by some of those who began using them at the height of their popularity in the mid to late 90s. The zip drive can be an internal or external drive and it uses cartridges about the same size as a 3.5” floppy disc except these cartridges are thicker. The cartridges hold about 100 to 750mgs as opposed to the floppy’s 1.44 mg storage capacity.

Small companies and individuals alike used these cartridges daily to back up their data. The zip drive was also capable of backing up data at a much faster rate than the floppy drive.

Having an external zip drive means that you can access data stored on your cartridges from another computer as long as you can plug in your zip drive to that computer. Some who have used zip drives for years are hesitant to change while others are converting all of their data to optical storage.

Zip drives and cartridges are another example of the magnetic storage solutions that were so popular before optical discs came on the market. The zip cartridges were able to store so much more data than the floppy discs that even a medium size company wouldn’t be infiltrated with too many cartridges.

Today, they are much cheaper than they were when they first came on the market but not as easy to find either as more and more computer users meet their data storage needs in other ways.

Even though the zip drive and cartridges are still in use today by some, for the most part they have been replaced by optical disc storage as well as other means of data storage.

Most magnetic storage devices have also been replaced by the optical storage devices such as CDs and DVDs but some are still in use today. In fact, the floppy drive is an example of a magnetic storage device. In addition, there are removable drives that use tape to record data and back up computer systems.

Some of the first data storage devices took up half a room and utilized magnetic tape to store data on. Even today, large amounts of data that don’t need to be quickly accessed can be found on magnetic tape. That is especially true of aging data that may not need to be accessed again at all but for different reasons still needs to be stored “just in case”.

Before optical drives however, magnetic tape drives other than the floppy drive were a removable method of data storage that were used by many. Tape drives were once a popular method by which to back up computer data especially in the business world. Even though some are still in use today, many have opted for the optical storage device or other, larger methods of data storage.

Flash drives are fun. You can wear the next great American novel around your neck if you want to and never have to worry about losing your files. Some of these gems even come with games loaded on them. All you have to do is plug the drive into any computer with a USB port and you’re ready to go! They have also come out with these whimsical little drives that you can wear on your wrist. How flashy is that!

Flash drives are very portable at about the size of a stick of gum. You can purchase the drive with 256mg of storage all the way to 4 gigs. They come in a variety of colors and appeal to teenagers as well as adults. Teenagers may store dozens of songs on their flash drive or photos or even a school paper they’re working on. Adults typically store work in progress or data they need to access at more than one computer.

Flash drives are perhaps the most convenient method of data storage to travel with. They are also cost effective and convenient to pass on to others with whom you are working or want to share information with. Some in the computer service industry keep special programs or “tools” on easily accessible flash drives so they always have what they need nearby whether they are making a house call or working in their shop.

Flash drives conveniently fit into the smallest pocket, worn on the body or can be tossed into your pocket book. Some use these as journals that they can keep with them at all times secure in the knowledge that no one else can read their diary. They’re also useful when writing on the road or keeping a journal or calendar of appointments. Flash drives are inexpensive and convenient for anyone to use regardless of the amount or lack of computer experience. Flash drives have taken data storage to a whole new level for the average computer user.

You may be shaking your head at the thought of storing your precious and private data online but there are some unique advantages to doing so. For one thing, by opting for this data storage solution, you can access your data from anywhere in the world. Thus, if you do a lot of traveling, this might be the option for you.

There are many companies that offer this secure service and you never have to worry about backing up your data when utilizing this method of data storage. How many of us have been sorry we didn’t back up our data when our hard drives crashed and we lost everything?

Another advantage to using online data storage is that you can share files, including music and photos with family and friends all over the world without having to do the work yourself.

You don’t have to have a huge amount of data to be stored in order to use online data storage. Some individuals with a minimal amount of data to be stored opt for this method simply because they know they won’t lose their data by losing a flash drive or by having a fire or even because their hard drive may crash. True, companies with a huge amount of data utilize online data storage but it is also a solution for the individual.

Companies with hundreds of networked computers need large data storage solutions. One such solution is Network Attached Storage or NAS. NAS allows many different users, such as employees in a call center environment to access data from a central storage unit whenever needed. This type of storage usually has a password associated with it but can retrieve the same data to many users at the same time.

Another use for NAS is when an internet service provider provides email boxes for all of their customers. NAS in this case stores all the data required to allow each user to access their email accounts and stores all the email on its server.

Network attached storage is used in hundreds of situations every day. Individuals accessing certain information at home never even realize they are benefiting from the NAS mode of data storage. Companies and those who pay for this storage solution however, are happy because it is more secure than previous data storage solutions on workstations or file servers and it is also cheaper.

While it wouldn’t be prudent for the individual to invest in a network attached storage system to retrieve their data, consumers benefit when companies they do business with store their data using the NAS system of data storage.

Network attached storage has replaced other less reliable methods of storing large amounts of data. Although it is a relatively new method of data storage, it has proven itself to be a reliable and cost effective one. NAS has only one function and that is to retrieve data for the end-user to access.

While Storage Area Network, SAN, is another large data storage solution, NAS has become quite the competition and the two are very much alike. They do differ on some of the technology used but they also share technologies too. For large data storage solutions, it would be worth it to read up on these two and compare the differences.