Objectives

Compare different types of storage media - advantages and disadvantages of them

Advantages of Optical Media

• Most optical media is Read Only​ - Data will not be overwritten

• Very low cost for high storage capacity​

• Data can hold for a very long period of time​

• Thus making optical disc (e.g. Blu-ray) very suitable to store Music Album and Movie​

Disadvantages

• Not rewritable (except those -RW or -RAM types, but they are also very slow in writing data)

• Slow access speed​

• Scratches on surface may damage data​

• In today's standard, it is consider to be bulky compare to solid state storages

Solid State Devices

• Solid state devices stores data in electronics ICs

• No (mechanical) moving components​​

​Examples of Solid-State

Solid State Drive (SSD) - Replaces HDD

Flash memory drives - USB Drive, SD Cards etc.

Advantages of Solid State

• No mechanical moving components - Fast Access speed and suitable in mobile application

• Small in physical size​

• Some SSDs can be 10x transfer speed compare to mechanical HDD​

Disadvantages

• Relatively expensive - but the cost is dramatically lower due to mass production

• Solid state drive may fail after a certain amount of rewriting data, typically a few years