Question

Based on your observation and group discussion, explain the evolution of data storage based on the following category: 1. Physical element (size/weight, portability, durability) 2. Non-physical element (cost, accessibility)

Answer 1

Evolution of data storage:

1) Magnetic Tape:

In 1960s

Physical element:

size: 2.3MB for 10.6'' Size

Durability: Magnetic tape has good durability. Unlike other data storing media, tapes have a much longer useful life and are less prone to the risks of modern drives. Precisely, magnetic tapes can be read securely, even after 30 years, while the average hard drive lasting only five years.

Portability: The magnetic tape is fairly small and would fit into a pocket or bag. However, in order to be read, an external tape drive is required. Thus, this form of storage is not considered to be very portable.

Non-Physical element:

Cost: 1,791.30 Euros per GB

Accessibility: Magnetic tapes can store up to one terabyte of uncompressed data as much as can be stored on a hard disk. Magnetic tape uses 'serial access' to find a piece of data.

2) Solid State Drives (SSD)

In 1970s

Physical element:

size: 2.5-Inch

Durability: Current estimates put the age limit for SSDs around 10 years

Portability: Portable SSDs are available. Portable SSDs offer all the benefits of internal SSDs without the need to swap out the drive inside your computer. Plus, they can be used with multiple systems and devices.

Non-Physical element:

Cost: Most expensive one is 2.5" 512GB at 401.18 Euros

Accessibility: A typical SSD has access speeds of 40 to 100 microseconds, which is nearly 100 times faster than a standard hard disk drive. Increased access speed means programs can run quicker and work gets done with less stress on the server

3) Cloud Data Storage

In 2000s

Physical element:

size: 1 Exabyte of data stored in the cloud, or: 1024 Petabytes of data

Durability: Cloud storage, especially object storage, is often known for its “durability,” with many providers claiming eleven or thirteen “nines”, in other words 99.999999999% reliability.

Portability: Cloud portability requires interoperability among cloud providers, which means that one cloud provider must be able to replicate the application environment that the previous cloud provider had established for the service. Cloud portability is still in research and development.

Non-Physical element:

Cost: Cost of cloud storage depends on variables like storage type, storage operation, storage data transfer, Network activity and bandwidth. The average is 0.13 Euros per GB

Accessibility: Using the cloud for storage gives you access to your files from anywhere that has an internet connection. In the event of a hard drive failure or other hardware malfunction, you can access your files on the cloud. It acts as a backup solution for your local storage on physical drives

Some more data storage systems worth mentioning are:

Punch cards, Floppies,Optical disks,  CD-RW, DVDs, Flash drives, Data silos and Data lakes, USB drives

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