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Bring yourself up to speed with our introductory content.
Get started
Bring yourself up to speed with our introductory content.
address space
Address space is the amount of memory allocated for all possible addresses for a computational entity, such as a device, a file, a server, or a networked computer. Continue Reading
direct access
In computer storage, direct access is the ability to obtain data from a storage device by going directly to where it is physically located on the device rather than by having to sequentially look for the data at one physical location after another. Continue Reading
8-track tape
An 8-track tape is a hard plastic cartridge about the size of an external modem that houses a continuous loop of non-digital (analog) audio data stored on magnetic tape. Continue Reading
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two-spindle system (twin-spindle system)
A two-spindle system, also called a twin-spindle system, is a computer design with two internal storage drives. Continue Reading
RIMM
In a computer, a RIMM is a memory module developed by Kingston Technology Corp. Continue Reading
data availability
Data availability is a term used by some computer storage manufacturers and storage service providers (SSPs) to describe products and services that ensure that data continues to be available at a required level of performance in situations ranging ...Continue Reading
VCD (video CD or video compact disc)
VCD (also called video CD, video compact disc or "disc") is a compact diskformat based on CD-ROM XAthat is specifically designed to hold MPEG-1video data and to include interactive capabilities.Continue Reading
DVD-Audio (DVD-A)
DVD-Audio (DVD-A) is a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) format, developed by Panasonic, that is specifically designed to hold audio data, and particularly, high-quality music.Continue Reading
JBOD (just a bunch of disks)
JBOD ("just a bunch of disks") refers to a computer's hard disks that haven't been configured according to the RAID system.Continue Reading
defragmenter
A defragmenter is a software utility that rearranges the fragments or discontiguous parts of each file stored on a computer hard disk so that the small, empty storage spaces adjacent to fragments can be used, effectively creating new storage space ...Continue Reading
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bus
In a computer or on a network, a bus is a transmission path on which signals are dropped off or picked up at every device attached to the line.Continue Reading
holographic storage (holostorage)
Holographic storage is computer storage that uses laser beams to store computer-generated data in three dimensions.Continue Reading
switching fabric
Switching fabric is the combination of hardware and software that moves data coming in to a network node out by the correct port (door) to the next node in the network.Continue Reading
diskette (floppy disk)
A diskette is a random access, removable data storage medium that can be used with personal computers.Continue Reading
DVD (digital video disk)
DVD is an optical disc technology with a 4.7 gigabyte storage capacity on a single-sided, one-layered disk, which is enough for a 133-minute movie.Continue Reading
access time
Access time is the time from the start of one storage device access to the time when the next access can be started.Continue Reading
WORM (write once, read many)
In computer storage media, WORM (write once, read many) is a data storage technology that allows information to be written to a disc a single time and prevents the drive from erasing the data.Continue Reading
storage filer
A storage filer is a file server designed and programmed for high-volume data storage, backup, and archiving.Continue Reading
standalone dump
A standalone dump is the copying of the contents of computer main storage (random access memory) to another storage device, usually for the purpose of debugging a programming problem.Continue Reading
zoning
In a storage area network (SAN), zoning is the allocation of resources for device load balancing and for selectively allowing access to data only to certain users.Continue Reading
sector
On a computer diskette or hard disk, a sector is one of the "pie slices" the diskette or disk is divided into.Continue Reading
portability
Portability is a characteristic attributed to a computer program if it can be used in an operating systems other than the one in which it was created without requiring major rework.Continue Reading
Ultra DMA (UDMA or Ultra DMA/33)
Ultra DMA (UDMA, or, more accurately, Ultra DMA/33) is a protocol for transferring data between a hard disk drive through the computer's data paths (or bus) to the computer's random access memory (RAM).Continue Reading
Standard MIDI File (SMF)
The SMF (Standard MIDI File) was developed to allow musicians and audio file developers to transfer their sequenced MIDI data from one software application to another.Continue Reading
disk cache
A disk cache is a mechanism for improving the time it takes to read from or write to a hard disk.Continue Reading
WRAM (Window RAM)
Window RAM (WRAM), unrelated to Microsoft Windows, is very high-performance video RAM that is dual-ported and has about 25% more bandwidth than VRAM but costs less.Continue Reading
shadow RAM
Shadow RAM is a copy of Basic Input/Output Operating System (BIOS) routines from read-only memory (ROM) into a special area of random access memory (RAM) so that they can be accessed more quickly.Continue Reading
thin server
In the computer industry, a thin server is a PC that contains just enough hardware and software to support a particular function that users can share in a network, such as access to files on a storage device, access to CD-ROM drives, printing, or ...Continue Reading
exabyte (EB)
An exabyte (EB) is a large unit of computer data storage, two to the sixtieth power bytes.Continue Reading
HSM (Hierarchical Storage Management)
HSM (Hierarchical Storage Management) is policy-based management of file backup and archiving in a way that uses storage devices economically and without the user needing to be aware of when files are being retrieved from backup storage media.Continue Reading
protected mode
Protected mode is a mode of program operation in a computer with an Intel-based microprocessor in which the program is restricted to addressing a specific contiguous area of 640 kilobytes.Continue Reading