3.3 Given a scenario, select & install storage devices Flashcards

1
Q

What does it mean that storage devices are non-volatile?

A

It holds data even when the system is powered off

These devices, also called mass storage, use magnetic, optical, or solid-state tech for data storage.

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2
Q

3 widths storage devices are produced in?

A
  • 5.25”
  • 3.5”
  • 2.5”

Bays with a 5.25” width include removable panels for devices like DVD drives and smart card readers.

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3
Q

How is a fixed disk typically installed to a drive bay?

(storage device)

A

Using a caddy

(Drive is screwed into caddy, & the caddy is screwed into the drive bay)

A caddy enables fitting drives of different sizes into bays, like a 2.5” drive in a 3.5” bay or a 3.5” drive in a 5.25” bay, using an adapter. Some caddies feature rails for easy drive removal without case opening

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4
Q

How do external hard drives typically connect to a computer?

A

via USB or Thunderbolt

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5
Q

3 factors that impact the choice of mass storage devices?

A
  • Reliability
  • Performance
  • Use
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6
Q

Meaning of SSD?

A

Solid-State Drive

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7
Q

How does an SSD work?

A

Uses flash memory technology to implement persistent mass storage

Flash memory outperforms mechanical HDDs, especially in read performance, with lower risks of total failure from mechanical shock and wear. Costs per gigabyte have significantly decreased in recent years

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8
Q

When may an SSD perform worse than an HDD?

A

During prolonged, large sequenctial write operations

SSDs can experience reduced performance due to write amplification and wear-leveling mechanisms.

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9
Q

What are flash chips susceptible to?

This is in relation to SSDs

A

A type of degradation over many write operations

The drive firmware and OS employ wear-leveling routines to evenly distribute writes across all SSD blocks, optimizing device lifespan

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10
Q

3 types of NOT AND (NAND) flash memory used in SSDs?

A
  • Single-Level Cell (SLC)
  • Multi-Level Cell (MLC)
  • Triple-Level Cell (TLC)
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11
Q

What type of SDD NOT AND (NAND) flash memory is more reliable & expensive?

A

Single-Level Cell (SLC)

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12
Q

2 SSD form factors?

A
  • M.2
  • mSATA
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13
Q

Identify SSD form factor

A

M.2

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14
Q

Identify SSD form factor

A

mSATA

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15
Q

3 SSD communication interfaces?

A
  • NVMe
  • SATA
  • PCIe
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16
Q

Meaning of NVMe?

A

Non-Volatile Memory Express

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17
Q

Meaning of PCIe?

A

Peripheral Component Interconnect Express

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18
Q

Main drawback to SATA/mSATA SSDs?

A

The 600 MBps interface can be a bottleneck to the best performing SSDs

The best performing SSDs can achieve transfer rates of up to 6.7 GB/s

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19
Q

What does the 2280 mean in 2280 M.2 SSD

A

The width & length of the M.2 adapter

(22mm wide & 80mm long, in this example)

M.2 adapters can be different widths & lengths

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20
Q

What is a HDD’s spinning disk’s speed measured in?

A

Revolutions Per Minute (RPM)

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21
Q

2 RPMs that high performance HDDs are rated at?

RPM = Revolutions Per Minute

A
  • 15,000
  • 10,000
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22
Q

2 RPMs that average performans HDDs are rated at?

RPM = Revolutions Per Minute

A
  • 7,200
  • 5,400
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23
Q

What is a HDD’s access/seek time?

A

Delay for read/write head to locate a track position

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24
Q

What is the access/seek time of a high-performance HDD?

A

Under 3ms

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25
Q

What is the access/seek time of an average-performance HDD?

A

6ms

(Around 6ms)

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26
Q

What is a HDD’s internal transfer rate?

A

How fast read/write operations are performed on the disk platters

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27
Q

What is the internal transfer rate of a 15K HDD?

(A 15,000 RPM HDD)

A

Up to 180 MBps

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28
Q

What is the internal transfer rate of a 7.2K HDD?

(A 7,200 RPM HDD)

A

Up to 110 MBps

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29
Q

What interface do most HDDs use?

A

SATA

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30
Q

What interfaces do legacy HDDs use?

A

PATA or SCSI

HDD with SCSI interface
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31
Q

2 HDD form factors?

A
  • 2.5”
  • 3.5”
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32
Q

What heights do 2.5” HDDs vary in?

A
  • 5mm
  • 7mm
  • 9.5mm
  • 15mm
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33
Q

Meaning of RAID?

A

Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks/Devices

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34
Q

What is the tradeoff with using RAID?

A

Sacrifices disk capacity but provices fault tolerance

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35
Q

How does a RAID array appear to an OS?

A

As a single storage resource/volume

It can be partitioned & formatted like any other drive

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36
Q

What does a RAID level represent?

i.e. RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 (1+0), etc.

A

Drive configuration with a given type of fault tolerance

Basic RAID levels are numbered from 0-6. There are also nested RAID solutions, like RAID 10 (RAID 1 + RAID 0)

37
Q

3 ways RAID can be implemented?

A
  • Software RAID (OS features)
  • Hardware RAID (Adapter Card)
  • Integrated RAID (Integrated on the MOBO)

Hardware RAID options vary from basic support for RAID 0 or RAID 1 to more advanced levels like RAID 5 and RAID 10. They often enable hot-swapping of damaged disks without system shutdown.

38
Q

What characteristic should all disks in an RAID array share?

Failure to have the same characteristics may result in suboptimal performance, compatibility issues, and potentially data loss

A

Capacity, type, & performance

39
Q

What happens if there are different disk sizes in a RAID array?

A

Smallest disk sets the limit for usable space on larger drives

40
Q

What is disk striping in RAID?

A

Dividing data into blocks & spreading them evenly across all disks in the array

This improves performance as multiple disks are available to service requests in parallel

41
Q

How many disks does RAID 0 require?

A

At least 2

42
Q

What does RAID 0 do?

A

Stripes data across multiple drives without redundancy

RAID 0 only has specialist uses–typically as some type of non-critical cache store

43
Q

What does it mean that RAID 0 provides no redundancy?

A

If any disk fails, the whole logical volume will fail

This will cause the computer to crash & requires data to be recovered from backup

44
Q

What does RAID 1 do?

A

Mirrors data across multiple drives for redundancy

Each write operation is duplicated on the second disk on the set. If one disk fails, the other takes over.

45
Q

How many disks does RAID 1 require?

A

Atleast 2

46
Q

What is RAID 1’s disk utilization?

A

50%

i.e. if you have two 1TB drives in a RAID 1 configuration, the total usable capacity is 1TB because the second drive mirrors the data from the first drive, effectively halving the usable space

47
Q

What does RAID 5 do?

A

Stripes data & parity data

48
Q

What is parity data?

A

Calculated value used for error detection & fault tolerance in RAID arrays

It’s generated from the data stored on the array

49
Q

What is parity data used for?

A

Reconstructing data in the event of a drive failure

50
Q

When is the read/write operation performance degraded in RAID 5?

A

When a disk fails

due to the need to recover the data using the parity data

51
Q

How many disks does RAID 5 require?

A

Atleast 3 disks

The controller or OS sets a maximum number of devices, but practical factors such as cost and risk often determine the actual number of drives used

52
Q

When does the whole logical volume fail in RAID 5?

Meaning, in what situation does the whole volume become unavailable

A

When more than one drive fails

This means that adding more disks increases the chance of failure

53
Q

How much data is reserved for parity in RAID 5?

A

A fraction of each disk’s capacity

The fraction is determined by the number of disks used in the array

i.e. if 3 disks are used, a third of each disk is set aside for parity. If 4 disks are used, a quarter is used for parity. i.e. in a 3 80GB disk configruation (240GB total), a third of each disk (26.4GB (a total of 80GB (3 * 26.4 = 80))) is used for parity, giving a usable volue of 160GB (240 - 80 = 160)

54
Q

What does RAID 10 (RAID 1 + RAID 0) do?

A

Mirrors data across multiple pairs of striped drives

55
Q

How does RAID 10 (RAID 1 + RAID 0) offer excellect fault tolerance?

A

One disk in each mirror can fail, & the volume will still be available

56
Q

How many disks does RAID 10 (RAID 1 + RAID 0) require?

A

Atleast 4 disks, & an even number of disks

57
Q

What is RAID 10’s disk utilization?

A

50%

This means that half of the total disk capacity is utilized for redundancy (mirroring). i.e. if you had 4 1TB drives, the usable storage capacity is 2TB due to the mirroring configuration, resulting in 50% disk overhead

58
Q

Meaning of NAS?

A

Network Attached Storage

59
Q

What is a NAS device?

A

Drive enclosure that connects directly to the network

Rather than to a PC

Advanced enclosures can host multiple disk units configured as a RAID array

60
Q

What is the max capacity of original SD cards?

A

2GB

61
Q

What is the max capacity of SDHC cards?

A type of SD card

A

32GB

62
Q

What is the max capacity of SDXC cards?

A

2TB

63
Q

Data speeds of SD cards using the original specification?

A

Up to 25 MBps

64
Q

Data speeds of SD cards with the UHS specification?

UHS = (Ultra High Speed)

A

Up to 108 MBps

65
Q

Data speeds of SD cards with the UHS-II specification?

A
  • 156 MBps full-duplex
  • 312 MBps half-duplex
66
Q

Data speeds of SD cards with the UHS-III specification?

A
  • 312 MBps full-duplex
  • 624 MBps full-duplex

This specification specifies 2 full-duplex rates

67
Q

How do smaller SD cards fit into regular-size readers?

i.e. microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC

A

Using a caddy

68
Q

Meaning of CD?

A

Compact Disc

69
Q

Meaning of DVD?

A

Digital Versatile Discs

70
Q

Meaning of BD?

(optical drive)

A

Blu-ray Discs

71
Q

How is data on optical media read?

A

via laser

Optical discs are marketed as being hard-wearing, but scratches can render them unreadable

72
Q

Can optical disks be used as storage media for PC data?

A

Yes

73
Q

What does it mean if an optical drive is formatted as basic recordable media?

A

Can be written once only in a single session

74
Q

What does it mean if an optical drive is formatted as multisession recordable media?

A

Writable in multiple sessions, but data is not erasable

75
Q

What does it mean if an optical drive is formatted as rewritable media?

A

Writable & erasable over multiple sessions, with a limit on write cycles

76
Q

What is the capacity of CDs?

A

Up to 700MB

77
Q

What formats are CDs available in?

A
  • Recordable (CD-R)
  • Rewritable (CD-RW)
78
Q

What is the base transfer rates of CDs?

A

150 KBps

79
Q

What is the capacity of DVDs?

A
  • 4.7GB (Single-layer, single-sided)
  • 17GB (Dual-layer, double-sided)
80
Q

What formats are modern DVD drives compatible with?

A
  • DVD+R/RW
  • DVD-R/RW

At launch, there were competing DVD+R/RW & DVD-R/RW recordable & rewritable formats, but most drives can use either, designated by the “±” symbol

81
Q

What is the base transfer rate of DVDs?

A

1.32 MBps

Equivalent to 9x CD speed

82
Q

What is the capacity of Blue-ray discs?

A

25GB per layer

83
Q

What is the base speed for Blu-ray?

A

4.5MBps

The max theoretical rate is 16x (72 MBps)

84
Q

How are internal optical drives installed?

A

Via 5.25” drive bay

85
Q

How are internal optical drives connected to the MOBO?

A

via SATA data & power connectors

86
Q

How are external optical drives connecting to the PC?

A

via USB

(or possible eSATA or Thunderbolt)

External optical drives usually come with their own AC adapter for power. They may feature either a tray-based or slot-loading mechanism

87
Q

How are optical drives rated?

A

According to their data transfer speed

88
Q

How are recordable/rewritable optical drives marketed?

A

3 speeds (expressed as record/rewrite/read speed)

i.e. 24x/16x/52x

New drives are generally multi-format, but there may be older drives with no Blu-ray support

89
Q

2 copy-protection mechanisms that consumer DVDs & Blu-rays feature?

A
  • DRM
  • Region-coding

Region coding restricts discs to be used only on players from the same region. On a PC, the region can usually be set through device properties, but firmware limits the changes allowed to a few times