Chapter4.Storage Devices

Chapter 4. Storage Devices

Upon completing this chapter, you will be able to

• Participate in discussions with vendors, work colleagues, and other professionals about the advantages and disadvantages of disk drive implementations being used in or planned for storage networks

• Analyze and compare the specifications and capabilities of different disk drives and their suitability for different types of applications

• Discuss and plan deployments of tape drives for storage networks

Storage devices perform the fundamental function of storage networks, which is the reading and writing of data stored on nonvolatile media. They operate in the microscopic realm, combining advanced magnetic physics, chemistry, and electronics. Demands to increase capacity and performance continue to force the industry to conduct fundamental scientific research on the microscopic characteristics of materials.

Storage devices are the building blocks of storage in disk subsystems as well as being used as standalone products in server systems. This chapter mostly examines disk drive technology as the device that is used far more than any other. Tape drives are looked at at the end of the chapter.