Device Subsystems

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 Introduction

 Types of External Memory

 Magnetic Disk
 Optical Memory
 Magnetic Tape

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 Magnetic Disk
 A disk is a circular platter constructed of a non-magnetic material called the
substrate (aluminum), coated with a magnetizable material (iron oxide…rust)
 Now glass
—Improved surface uniformity
– Increases reliability
—Reduction in surface defects
– Reduced read/write errors
—Lower flight heights
—Better stiffness
—Better shock/damage resistance

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 Magnetic Read and Write Mechanism
 Data are recorded on and later retrieved from the disk via a
conducting coil named the head
 In many systems, there are two heads, a read head and a write head.
 During a read or write operation, the head is stationary while the
platter rotates beneath it.

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Magnetic Disk Write Mechanism

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 Magnetic Disk Write Mechanism
 Electricity flowing through a coil produces a magnetic field.
 Electric pulses are sent to the write head, and the resulting magnetic
patterns are recorded on the surface below, with different patterns for
positive and negative currents.
 The write head itself is made of easily magnetizable material and is in the
shape of a rectangular doughnut with a gap along one side and a few
turns of conducting wire along the opposite side.
 An electric current in the wire induces a magnetic field across the gap,
which in turn magnetizes a small area of the recording medium.
 Reversing the direction of the current reverses the direction of the
magnetization on the recording medium.
Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University
 Magnetic Disk Read Mechanism
 Magnetic field moving relative to a coil produces an electrical
current in the coil.
 When the surface of the disk passes under the head, it generates a
current of the same polarity as the one already recorded.
 The structure of the head for reading is in this case essentially the
same as for writing and therefore the same head can be used for
both.
 Such single heads are used in floppy disk systems and in older rigid
disk systems.

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 Data Organization
 Tracks: Hard Disk platters arrange data into concentric circles. Each circle is called a
Track.- thousands of tracks per surface. Each track is the same width as the head.
 Sectors: The smallest addressable unit on a Track. Sectors are normally 512 bytes in
size, and there can be hundreds of sectors per track. They may be of fixed or variable
length.
 Heads: The devices used to write and read data on each platter.
 Cylinders: Platters on a hard disk are stacked up, and so are the heads. Concentric
circles from each parallel platter form a cylinder.
 Inter track gap: space between tracks to reduce errors due to misalignment of the
head or interference of magnetic fields.
 Intra track gap: gap between sectors to avoid unreasonable precision requirements
on the system (inter sector gap)

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Disk Data Layout

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 Constant Angular Velocity (CAV)
 The fixed speed with which the disk is rotated so that
the information is scanned at the same rate
 Advantage:
 Individual blocks of data can be directly addressed by track and sector.
 To move the head from its current location to a specific address, it only
takes a short movement of the head to a specific track and a short wait for
the proper sector to spin under the head.
 Disadvantage
 The amount of data that can be stored on the long outer tracks is same as
what can be stored on the short inner tracks.
Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University
 Multiple Zone Recording
 The density, in bits per linear inch, increases in moving from the
outermost track to the innermost track.
 Disk storage capacity in a straightforward CAV system is limited by the maximum
recording density that can be achieved on the innermost track.
 To increase density, modern hard disk systems use a technique known as multiple
zone recording, in which the surface is divided into a number of concentric zones
 Within a zone, the number of bits per track is constant.
 Zones farther from the center contain more bits (more sectors) than zones closer to
the center.
 This allows for greater overall storage capacity at the expense of somewhat more
complex circuitry
Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University
 Physical Characteristics of Disk Systems
 Head motion
 Fixed: one read/write head per track (rare)
 Movable: only one read – write head per surface
 Disk portability
 Removable: can be removed and replaced with the other
 Non-removable: permanently mounted in the disk drive (ex: hard disk)
 Sides:
 Single sided: magnetizable coating applied on one side
 Double sided: (usually) two sides coated
 Platters:
 Multiple platters: disk drives accommodate multiple platters vertically a fraction of an inch apart
 Single platter
 Head mechanism
 Contact (floppy): head comes into contact during the operation
 Fixed Gap: the read-write head has been positioned a fixed distance above the platter, allowing an air gap.
 Aerodynamic Gap

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Multiple Platters

Tracks and Cylinders

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University
 Multiple Platters
 Multiple–platter disks employ a movable head, with one read-write head per
platter surface.
 All of the heads are mechanically fixed so that all are at the same distance
from the center of the disk and move together.
 Thus, at any time, all of the heads are positioned over tracks that are of equal
distance from the center of the disk.
 The set of all the tracks in the same relative position on the platter is referred
to as a cylinder.

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 Disk Performance Parameters
 Seek time: on a movable head, time it takes to position the head at the track.
 Rotational delay/latency: the time it takes for the beginning of the sector to
reach the head
 Access time: seek time + latency
 Time it takes to get into position to read or write
 Transfer time: time required to transfer data
T = b/(r*N), where b is the number of bytes to be transferred, r is the rotation
speed (revolutions per second) and N is the number of bytes on a track
 Average access time Ta = Ts + 1/2r + b/(r*N), where Ts is average seek time
Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University
 Optical Memory
 The compact disk (CD) digital audio system is introduced in 1983
 The CD is a nonerasable disk that can store more than 60 minutes of
audio information on one side
 Optical disk products
 (Compact Disk) CD, CD – ROM, CD – R (Recordable), CD – RW (rewritable)
 (Digital Versatile Disk) DVD, DVD – R, DVD – RW
 BLU-RAY DVD - High Definition Disk

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

CD Operation

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 CD Operation
 Both the audio CD and the CD-ROM (compact disk read-only memory) share a
similar technology
 Digitally recorded information is imprinted as a series of microscopic pits on
the surface of the polycarbonate.
 This is done, first of all, with a finely focused, high-intensity laser to create a
master disk.
 The pitted surface is then coated with a highly reflective surface, usually
aluminium or gold.
 This shiny surface is protected against dust and scratches by a top coat of clear
acrylic.
 Finally, a label can be silkscreened onto the acrylic

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 CD Operation
 Information is retrieved from a CD or CD-ROM by a low-powered
laser housed in an optical-disk player, or drive unit.
 The laser shines through the clear polycarbonate while a motor
spins.
 The intensity of the reflected light of the laser changes as it
encounters a pit.
 Specifically, if the laser beam falls on a pit, which has a somewhat
rough surface, the light scatters and a low intensity is reflected back
to the source.

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 CD Operation
 The areas between pits are called lands.
 A land is a smooth surface, which reflects back at higher intensity.
 The change between pits and lands is detected by a photosensor
and converted into a digital signal.
 The sensor tests the surface at regular intervals.
 The beginning or end of a pit represents 1; when no change in
elevation occurs between intervals, a 0 is recorded.

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

DVD – ROM

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 DVD – ROM
 CD – ROM capacity – 682 MB
 The DVD’s greater capacity is due to three differences from CDs
 Bits are packed more closely on a DVD – increases to 4.7 GB
 The DVD employs a second layer of pits and lands on top of the first layer –
increases to 8.5 GB
 The DVD-ROM can be two sided, whereas data are recorded on only one
side of a CD – increases to 17 GB

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Optical Memory Characteristics

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Optical Memory Characteristics

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Optical Memory Characteristics

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Difference between magnetic disk and compact disk
1.Magnetic disks is having concentric tracks.
Compact disks is having spiral tracks.

2.Constant Angular Velocity(CAV) is maintained in MD.

Constant Linear Velocity(CLV) is maintained in CD.

3.MD ’s are faster.

CD ’s are slower.

4.Direct Access Method is used to read/write the data in MD.

Sequential Access Method is used to read/write the data
in CD.
Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University
 Magnetic Tape
 Tape systems use the same reading and recording techniques as disk systems.
 Data on the tape are structured as a number of parallel tracks running
lengthwise.
 Earlier tape systems typically used nine tracks.
 This made it possible to store data one byte at a time, with an additional parity
bit as the ninth track.
 The recording of data in this form is referred to as parallel recording.
 Most modern systems instead use serial recording, in which data are laid out
as a sequence of bits along each track, as is done with magnetic disks

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 Magnetic Tape
 Data are read and written in contiguous blocks, called physical records, on a
tape.
 Blocks on the tape are separated by gaps referred to as interrecord gaps.
 The typical recording technique used in serial tapes is referred to as
serpentine recording.
 In this technique, when data are being recorded, the first set of bits is
recorded along the whole length of the tape.
 When the end of the tape is reached, the heads are repositioned to record a
new track, and the tape is again recorded on its whole length, this time in the
opposite direction

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Magnetic Tape – Serpentine Reading and Writing

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 Magnetic Tape
 To increase the speed read-write head is capable of reading and writing a
number of adjacent tracks simultaneously

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 Magnetic Tape
 A tape drive is a sequential-access device.
 If the tape head is positioned at record 1, then to read record N, it is necessary
to read physical records 1 through N - 1, one at a time
 Magnetic tape was the first kind of secondary memory

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 RAID (redundant array of independent disks)
 Redundant array of inexpensive disks
 Multiple disk database design
 Not a hierarchy
 7 levels (6 levels in common use)
 Set of physical disk drives viewed by the OS as a single logical drive
 Data are distributed across the physical drives of an array
 Redundant disk capacity is used to store parity information => data
recoverability
 Improve access time and improve reliability

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 RAID – Level 0
 Not a true member of the RAID family - does not include redundancy to
improve performance.
 User and system data is distributed across all disks in the array in strips.
 Imagine a large logical disk containing ALL data. This is divided into strips
(physical blocks or sectors) that are mapped ‘round robin’ to the strips in the
array.
 If two different I/O requests are pending for two different blocks of data –
then there is a good chance that the data will be on different disks and can be
serviced in parallel.
 If a single I/O request is for multiple logically continuous strips – up to n strips
can be handled in parallel.

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

RAID Level 0

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 RAID Level 1
 Redundancy achieved through duplicating all data.
 Data stripping is similar to RAID level 0.
 Each logic strip is mapped to two physical disks.
 Read request can be serviced from either of available 2 disks, which ever involves the minimum seek time
and rotational latency
 Write request requires both disks to be updated – but this can be done in parallel. (Slower write dictates
overall speed).
 Recover from failure is simple! (data may still be accessed from the second drive
 Disadvantage:
 Cost
 requires twice the disk space
 Configuration is limited, so used only for system software and other highly critical files.

 Improvement occurs if the application can split each read request so that both disk
members participate

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

RAID Level 1

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 RAID Level 2
 Utilizes parallel access techniques - All disks participate in the execution of every I/O
request.
 Data striping – bit level stripping
 Error correcting code is calculated across corresponding bits on each disk, and the code bits
are stored in corresponding bit positions on multiple parity disks.

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 RAID Level 3 – byte level stripping
 Similar to RAID 2 – parallel access with data distributed in small strips.
 Requires only a single redundant disk because it uses a single parity bit for the
set of individual bits in the same position on all of the data disks.
 If drives X0-X3 contain data, and X4 contains parity bits.
 X4(i) = X3(i)  X2(i)  X1(i)  X0(i)
 Redundancy – in the case of disk failure, the data can be reconstructed.
If drive X1 fails – it can be reconstructed as:
 X1(i) = X4(i)  X3(i)  X2(i)  X0(i)
 Performance – can achieve high transfer rates, but only one I/O request can be
executed at one time. (Better for large data transfers in non transaction-
oriented environments).

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

RAID Level 3 and RAID Level 4

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 RAID Level 4 – block level stripping
 Each disk operates independently - Separate I/O requests satisfied in parallel.
 Suitable for applications with high I/O request rates and NOT well suited for those requiring
high data transfer rates.
 Data striping. (Strips are larger than in lower RAIDs).
 Bit-by-bit parity strip is calculated across corresponding strips on each data disk, and stored
in corresponding strip on the parity disk.
 Performance – write penalty when I/O request is small size. Write must update user data +
corresponding parity bits.
 X4(i) = X3(i)  X2(i)  X1(i)  X0(i)
 If X1(i) is changed to X1’(i)
 X4(i) = X3(i)  X2(i)  X1’(i)  X0(i) = X4(i)  X1(i)  X1’(i)
 To calculate new parity, the old user and old parity strips must be read. Then it can update
these two strips with the new data and the newly calculated parity. Thus each strip write
involves two reads and two writes.

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 RAID Level 5
 Same as RAID 4 – but parity strips are distributed across all disks.
 Typical allocation uses round-robin.
 For an n-disk array, the parity strip is on a different disk for the first n strips and the pattern
then repeats.
 Avoids potential bottleneck found in RAID 4.

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 RAID Level 6
 Two different parity calculations are carried out and stored in
separate blocks on different disks.
 Example: XOR and an independent data check algorithm => makes it
possible to regenerate data even if two disks containing user data fail.
 No. of disks required = N + 2 (where N = number of disks required for
data).
 Provides HIGH data availability.
 Incurs substantial write penalty as each write affects two parity
blocks.
 Three disks would have to fail within MTTR (mean time to repair)
interval to cause data to be lost
Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University
RAID Level 6

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Comparison of RAID Levels

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Comparison of RAID Levels

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Comparison of RAID Levels

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Comparison of RAID Levels

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Comparison of RAID Levels

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

Comparison of RAID Levels

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University

 References
 M. M. Mano, Computer System Architecture, Prentice-Hall
 William Stallings “Computer Organization and architecture” Prentice Hall, 7th
edition, 2006

Dr. V.Saritha, Associate Professor, SCOPE, VIT University