What is data storage?

The term data storage can refer to anything with information recorded on it. Using this broad definition, a hardback volume of an encyclopedia, an audio cassette of a pop song, and even a piece of paper with random words written on it would all be considered examples of data storage. The most popular definition of the term limits it to only the storage of information on computers and similar devices, and is the definition that is used in this article. Everything a computer “knows” or is able to “know” is called computer data. This includes e-mails, text files, digital pictures, and databases. Computer data storage can be divided into two main categories: primary data storage and secondary data storage. Each is important, but secondary data storage is usually what people think of when they use the term. Both categories will be explained below. What a computer “knows” at any given time is technically what information a computer’s central processing unit (CPU) can directly access. This ...  more

Ever lose sleep over what goes on inside all those big boxes with the blinking lights that store oceans of data? Probably not. It may seem arcane, but the interaction between a corporate computer network and its data storage systems is a backbone of business. Here's how it works: Text, images, or numbers are turned into digital form, and those electronic data streams flow from servers and mainframes to a single storage unit containing dozens of linked disk drives. When a computer needs data back, the storage system locates it, puts it into the proper format, then spits it out. At a large corporation, that can mean trillions of transactions a day. Sounds simple, but it's not. The disk drives and computer chips that go into today's large storage systems are essentially commodities. What sets EMC's EMC technology apart is its software, which coordinates the fast movement of data in and out of its storage units, even as they perform other important tasks. Those include replicating stored ...  more