HDDs
Magnetic disk drives
HDDs is the plural of HDD, hard disk drive—a data storage device that uses spinning magnetic platters and a moving read/write head.
HDDs store everything from operating systems to personal files.
They've been largely supplanted by solid-state drives (SSDs) in laptops and phones, but remain common for bulk storage where speed matters less than capacity: The server farm runs on rows of HDDs.
Large serving dishes
- spindleRotating rod for thread
- actuatorDevice producing controlled motion
- motorEnergy-to-motion converter
- sliderAdjustable interface element
preamp · bearing · chassis · PCB · enclosure · landing zone · parking ramp
Delay moving read head
- latencyDelay in system response
- rotational speedTurns per time unit
- RPMTurns in sixty seconds
- throughputProcessing rate over time
transfer rate · cache · buffer · access time · write speed
Serial disk interface
- IDEUnified coding software suite
- SCSIParallel peripheral interface standard
- SASThree-letter acronym, multiple meanings
- USBDevice connection standard
Thunderbolt · connector · cable · port · data transfer · hot-swap · enclosure · docking station
Barrier separating spaces
- filesystemData storage organization scheme
- sectorDistinct division of whole
- trackPath or monitored route
- cylinderCircular-based solid form
cluster · defragmentation · formatting · GPT · block · volume · FAT · NTFS
Trillion-byte measure
- gigabyteData storage unit
- petabyteQuadrillion bytes measured
- megabyteData capacity measure
- bytesUnits of digital storage
file size · storage limit · data cap · quota · usable space
Disk virtualization technology
Management or diagnostic acronym
- failure rateHow often something fails
- data recoveryRetrieving lost digital information
- warrantyFormal repair promise
- lifespanTotal existence duration
bad sectors · wear · degradation · clicking · error rate · power cycles
platters
Large serving dishes
- spindleRotating rod for thread
- actuatorDevice producing controlled motion
- motorEnergy-to-motion converter
slider · preamp · bearing · chassis · PCB · enclosure · landing zone · parking ramp
seek time
Delay moving read head
- latencyDelay in system response
- rotational speedTurns per time unit
- RPMTurns in sixty seconds
throughput · transfer rate · cache · buffer · access time · write speed
SATA
Serial disk interface
- IDEUnified coding software suite
- SCSIParallel peripheral interface standard
- SASThree-letter acronym, multiple meanings
USB · Thunderbolt · connector · cable · port · data transfer · hot-swap · enclosure · docking station · adapter
partition
Barrier separating spaces
- filesystemData storage organization scheme
- sectorDistinct division of whole
- trackPath or monitored route
cylinder · cluster · defragmentation · formatting · GPT · block · volume · FAT · NTFS
terabyte
Trillion-byte measure
bytes · file size · storage limit · data cap · quota · usable space
RAID
Disk virtualization technology
internal · array · mirroring · striping · redundancy · enclosure · SAN
SMART
Management or diagnostic acronym
- failure rateHow often something fails
- data recoveryRetrieving lost digital information
- warrantyFormal repair promise
bad sectors · lifespan · wear · degradation · clicking · error rate · power cycles
HDDsSSDs
Chip-based storage media
solid-state drives · flash memory · RAM · volatile memory · flash drives