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Most computer operating systems use the concept of virtual memory, allowing the utilization of more primary storage capacity than is physically available in the system. As the primary memory fills up, the system moves the least-used chunks to a swap file or page file on secondary storage, retrieving them later when needed. If a lot of pages are ...
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] Main memory operates at a high speed compared to mass storage which is slower but less expensive per bit and higher in capacity.
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.
The cloud storage gateway transparently transfers the data to and from the cloud storage service, providing low latency access to the data through a local cache. [21] Hybrid cloud storage can be used to supplement an organization's internal storage resources, or it can be used as the primary storage infrastructure.
Disk partitioning or disk slicing [1] is the creation of one or more regions on secondary storage, so that each region can be managed separately. [2] These regions are called partitions. It is typically the first step of preparing a newly installed disk after a partitioning scheme is chosen for the new disk before any file system is created.
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. However, most forms of non-volatile memory have limitations that make them unsuitable for use as primary storage.
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The notion of "large" amounts of data is of course highly dependent on the time frame and the market segment, as storage device capacity has increased by many orders of magnitude since the beginnings of computer technology in the late 1940s and continues to grow; however, in any time frame, common mass storage devices have tended to be much larger and at the same time much slower than common ...