Computer Architecture

Lecture 5.
. External Memory.

Instructors

Elena Boldyreva, Associate Professor [email protected]

E-mail for questions [email protected]

GOALS OF THIS LECTURE: PLAN:
1. get terminology about 1. Types of external memory
external memory 2. How external memory works
2. more details about external 3. Why external memory works
memory structure and
4. external design basics
implementation

©. Stallings, William. Computer organization and architecture : designing for performance 2

 What is the External Memory?

• External memory, also called "secondary memory“, refers to a storage device that
can retain or store data persistently. They could be embedded or removable storage
devices. Examples include hard disk or solid state drives, USB flash drives, and
compact discs.

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 Types of External Memory

• Magnetic Disk
– RAID
– Removable
• Optical
– CD-ROM
– CD-Recordable (CD-R)
– CD-R/W
– DVD
• Magnetic Tape

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 Magnetic Disk

• A circular platter constructed of

nonmagnetic material called
substrate:
– Aluminium (old)
– Glass (new)
• Coated with a magnetisable
material

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 Magnetic Disk (Cont.)

• Glass
• Improved surface uniformity
– Increases reliability
• Reduction in surface defects
– Reduced read/write errors
• Better stiffness – to reduce disk
dynamics
• Greater ability to withstand shock
and damage

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Data Organization and Formatting

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 Data Organization and Formatting (2)

• Concentric rings or tracks

– Gaps between tracks
– Reduce gap to increase capacity
– Same number of bits per track
(variable packing density)
– Constant angular velocity
• Tracks divided into sectors
• Minimum block size is one sector
• May have more than one sector per
block

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 Magnetic Disk – Read/Write

Mechanisms:
• Recording & retrieval via conductive coil called a head
• May be single read/write head or separate ones
• During read/write, head is stationary, platter rotates

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 Magnetic Disk – Read/Write (2)

• Write
Current through coil produces magnetic field
Pulses sent to head
Magnetic pattern recorded on surface below
• Read (traditional)
Magnetic field moving relative to coil produces current
Coil is the same for read and write
• Read (contemporary)
Separate read head, close to write head
Partially shielded magneto resistive (MR) sensor
Electrical resistance depends on direction of magnetic field
High frequency operation
 Higher storage density and speed
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 Disk Velocity

• Bit near centre of rotating disk passes fixed point

slower than bit on outside of disk
• Increase spacing between bits in different tracks
• Rotate disk at constant angular velocity (CAV)
Gives pie shaped sectors and concentric tracks
Individual tracks and sectors addressable
Move head to given track and wait for given sector
Waste of space on outer tracks
 Lower data density
• Can use zones to increase capacity
Each zone has fixed bits per track
More complex circuitry

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Magnetic Disk - Layout Methods Diagram

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Magnetic Disk – Constant Angular Velocity

• The disk is divided into a number of pie-shaped

sectors and into a series of concentric tracks
• Advantage of CAV: The individual blocks of data can
be directly addressed by tracks and sectors
• Disadvantage of CAV: The amount of data that can
be stored on the long outer tracks is the only same as
what can be stored on the short inner tracks

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Magnetic Disk – Multiple Zone Recording

• The surface is divided into a number of concentric

zones:
– The number of bits per track is constant (Within
the zone)
– Zones farther from the center contain more bits
(since more sectors) than zones closer to the
center
• Advantage: • Increase density
• Disadvantage: • Require complex circuitry

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 Magnetic Disk – Physical Characteristics

• Fixed (rare) or movable head

• Removable or fixed
• Single or double (usually) sided
• Single or multiple platter
• Head mechanism

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 Magnetic Disk – Fixed/Movable Head Disk

• Fixed head
– One read write head per track
– Heads mounted on fixed ridged arm
• Movable head
– One read write head per side
– Mounted on a movable arm

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 Magnetic Disk – Removable or Not

• Removable disk
– Can be removed from drive and replaced with another disk
– Provides unlimited storage capacity
– Easy data transfer between systems
• Nonremovable disk
– Permanently mounted in the drive

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 Magnetic Disk – Multiple Platter

• One head per side

• Heads are joined and aligned
• Aligned tracks on each platter form cylinders
• Data is striped by cylinder
– reduces head movement
– Increases speed (transfer rate)

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Magnetic Disk – Tracks and Cylinders

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 Magnetic Disk – Classifications

Head mechanism:
#1 Traditional head
• Positioned a fixed distance above the platter-allowing an air gap
#2 head mechanism that actually comes into physical contact with the medium during R/W
operation
• Used in floppy disk
• 8”, 5.25”, 3.5”
• Small capacity
• Up to 1.44Mbyte (2.88M never popular)
• Slow
• Universal
• Cheap
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 Magnetic Disk – Classifications (2)

Head mechanism
#3 Winchester
• Aerodynamic gap
• Generate or sense an electromagnetic field of sufficient magnitude - write/read
• Used in sealed drive – free of contamination – able to reduce the risk of error
• Operate closer to the disk’s surface -> greater data density
• Material - Aerodynamic foil - rests lightly on the platter’s surface

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 Magnetic Disk - Performance

General timing of disk I/O transfer

• Seek time -> Moving head to correct track
• (Rotational) latency/delay -> Waiting for data to rotate under head
• Access time = Seek + Latency
• Transfer rate-the time required for the transfer data

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Magnetic Disk - Performance

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 Optical Storage CD-ROM

• Originally for audio

• 650Mbytes giving over 70 minutes
audio
• Polycarbonate coated with highly
reflective coat, usually aluminium
• Data stored as pits
• Read by reflecting laser
• Constant packing density
• Constant linear velocity

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 CD-ROM Drive Speeds and Format

• Audio is single speed

– Constant linier velocity
– 1.2 ms-1
– Track (spiral) is 5.27km long
– Gives 4391 seconds = 73.2
minutes
• Other speeds are quoted as
multiples
• Mode 0=blank data field
• e.g. 24x • Mode 1=2048 byte data+error correction
• Quoted figure is maximum drive • Mode 2=2336 byte data
can achieve

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Optical Storage – Writing

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Optical Storage – Reading

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 Optical Storage – Types

CD-ROM CD-Recordable (R)

• Appropriate for large amount of data • Write Once Read only Memory (WORM)
• Removable • Compatible with CD-ROM drives
Disadvantages: • Read only-cannot be
updated • The access time is longer
compared to magnetic disk drive

CD-RW DVD
• Erasable Digital Video Disk
• Getting cheaper • Used to indicate a player for movies
• Mostly CD-ROM drive compatible • Only plays video disks
• Can be rewritten and can used as Digital Versatile Disk
secondary storage similar to magnetic • Used to indicate a computer drive
disk • Will read computer disks and play video
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 Magnetic Tape

• Tape system use the same reading/writing

technique as disk system
• Made from polyester tape coated with
magnetizable material
• Data on the tape are structured as a number
of parallel tracks running lengthwise
• Serial access
• Slow
• Very cheap
• Backup and archive

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 Magnetic Tape (2)

Older version - parallel recording Modern version - serial recording

• Have 9 tracks • Data are laid out as a sequence of bits

• Store one byte at a time with additional along each track similar to magnetic disks
parity bit • Data read and write in contiguous blocks
• Later system have 18 or 36 tracks called physical records on a tape
• Typical recording technique used in serial
tapes is referred as serpentine recording

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