Chapter 2. Basic Concepts of I/O Systems

This chapter is dedicated to key storage terminology and concepts that are used later in this book.

Start with Basics

Storage is inevitable in any kind of computing environment; the goal is to have a place where you can keep data at rest. This term is often used for making the difference between volatile and temporary data, compared to data that are supposed to be stored for a certain amount of time, sometimes years, depending on the retention requirements of that piece of data.

Storing data can be done in the following ways:

  • Randomly—Data are written anywhere on the mass media. This is often the case for disk access and a bit of nuisance when it comes to high performance.
  • Sequentially—Data are stored ...

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