Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Secondary storage is non-volatile (retaining data when its power is shut off). Modern computer systems typically have two orders of magnitude more secondary storage than primary storage because secondary storage is less expensive. In modern computers, hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SSDs) are usually used as secondary storage.
Non-volatile memory is typically used for the task of secondary storage or long-term persistent storage. The most widely used form of primary storage today [ as of? ] is a volatile form of random access memory (RAM), meaning that when the computer is shut down, anything contained in RAM is lost.
Off-line bulk storage – Tertiary and Off-line storage. This is a general memory hierarchy structuring. Many other structures are useful. For example, a paging algorithm may be considered as a level for virtual memory when designing a computer architecture, and one can include a level of nearline storage between online and offline storage.
Volatile memory, in contrast to non-volatile memory, is computer memory that requires power to maintain the stored information; it retains its contents while powered on but when the power is interrupted, the stored data is quickly lost. Volatile memory has several uses including as primary storage.
Computer memory stores information, such as data and programs, for immediate use in the computer. [2] The term memory is often synonymous with the terms RAM, main memory, or primary storage. Archaic synonyms for main memory include core (for magnetic core memory) and store. [3]
An illustration of the write amplification phenomenon in flash-based storage devices. Over time, advancements in central processing unit (CPU) speed has driven innovation in secondary storage technology. [7] One such innovation, flash memory, is a non-volatile storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed.
Single-level storage (SLS) or single-level memory is a computer storage term which has had two meanings. The two meanings are related in that in both, pages of memory may be in primary storage or in secondary storage (disk), and that the physical location of a page is unimportant to a process.
For these reasons it is used for primary storage, to hold the program and data the computer is currently working on, among other uses. As of 2017 [update] , sales of semiconductor memory chips are $124 billion annually, accounting for 30% of the semiconductor industry . [ 6 ]