Posted: August 27th, 2022

Mass Storage Devices

Mass Storage Devices
Mass storage devices are those devices on your system available for storing large amounts of data. Some of the common MSDs include disk drives, optical drives, external hard drives, tape drives, USB, and RAID. Homework help – Write explaining the advantages and disadvantages of these devices.

Mass Storage Devices
Mass storage devices store large sized data in servers and computer systems. Another name for mass storage devices is the auxiliary storage device, either internal or external. Example of mass storage devices includes optical drives, external hard drives, USB storage device, tape drives, and floppy disks (Yang et al.,2021. Mass storage devices have several advantages and disadvantages, where the pros and cons vary depending on the type of service.
External hard drives. External hard drives are common;y used because they are easy to use and affordable per GB. Also, it is easier and faster to restore data and files using an external hard drive. Despite being friendly, external hard drives have a short life span, and in case of damage, important files can be lost permanently (Yang et al.,2021). Hard drives are not designed to stay longer since they can be destroyed by water or fire. Users of external hard drives are expected to have another permanent solution for data backup.
USB storage device: Compared to external hard drives, USB drives are more expensive per GB.USB drives are also easy to use, and users can restore data in a short time (Yang et al.,2021). Like external hard drives, USB drives have a short lifespan and come in different qualities, requiring extra attention when purchasing.
Optical disks: Optical disks, such as DVD RAM, CD R/DVD R, and CD ROM/DVD ROM. Optical disks have a higher data stability, and provide mass storage for data (Ibrahim et al.,2021). Another advantage for optical disks is that the storage devices are both countable and uncountable storage units. On the other hand, optical disks are expensive and can easily break, leading to data loss. Also, optical disks cannot read on any drive, requiring special drives.
RAID: RAID devices have a larger storage capacity and do not experience redundancy issues. Compared to other mass storage devices, RAIDs are very expensive, especially for personal use. Also, RAIDS are complex hence require IT professionals to manage. RAID is mostly used as a backup plan for devices, such as external hard drives.
Tape drives: Like RAID, tapes are used as a backup plan in most organizations. The storage device is expensive, hence mostly used by large businesses. Compared to USB drives, and external hard drives, tapes have a long lifespan (Park, & Kim, 2018). However, tapes have a higher risk of failure, fragile, and data is mostly not encrypted.
Recordable Blu-ray: A recordable blu-ray is affordable for individual consumers compared to RAIDS and tapes. Blu-ray has a longer lifespan of fifty to one hundred years, exceptional from other storage devices. Additionally, recordable blu-ray is cost-effective per GB and have a wider media capacity of twenty-five to fifty GB. Recordable Blu-ray also allows easy and quick access to data because users can easily restore data. Compared to RAID, recordable blu-ray is easier to use, such as the ability to scan automatically.
Cloud storage or online backup is commonly used today in place of physical portable devices, such as USB devices. Cloud storage entails backing up data through the internet. Online backup is not expensive, especially the use of public cloud storage. Cloud data storage allows automatic backup after connecting to the internet, and a third party vendor can easily manage data (Yang et al.,2021). Cloud storage is cost-effective, although it can be expensive when storing large files. Bandwidth is the biggest issue, especially when backing up large files. Bandwidth issues may make data backing up difficult or lead to a slow backing up process. Despite being cost-friendly, cloud storage poses higher data security risks and vulnerabilities.
Mass storage devices are critical in promoting data backup and permanent data storage (Yang et al.,2021). Both internal and external mass storage devices play a critical role in preventing data loss.

References
Ibrahim, A. I. E. D., Salem, M. M., Hegazi, N. H., & Zahran, O. (2021). Optical Disk: Review and Analysis.(Dept. E). MEJ. Mansoura Engineering Journal, 17(1), 19-41.
Park, J. K., & Kim, J. (2018). Big data storage configuration and performance evaluation utilizing NDAS storage systems. AKCE International Journal of Graphs and Combinatorics, 15(2), 197-201.
Yang, J. Q., Zhou, Y., & Han, S. T. (2021). Functional Applications of Future Data Storage Devices. Advanced Electronic Materials, 7(5), 2001181.

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