INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

FUNDAMENTALS

WEEK 4
Outline

■Memory and Storage

■Computer Memory
1- Internal memory
2- External Memory (Storage Device)
■Local Network Storage Types
■Cloud Storage Devices
■File Systems
■Windows Drive and File Systems
■File Systems
Outline (Cont.)

■ File Systems Features

■ Windows System Folders
■ Linux Directories
■ User Profiles
■ File Explorer Options
■ File Attributes and Permissions
■ Folder and File permissions
■ User Permissions
■ View, Group and Filter Options
■ Common File Formats
Memory and Storage

■ Memory:
– Memory is an electronic component that is capable of storing data and information on
a temporary basis.
– It is temporary data storage.
– Memory is faster than storage.
– Memory can access data and information instantly.
– When the computer loses the power, Data is lost .
– The memory module are expensive than storage.
– There size are not much larger and goes upto GBs.
– It is used when data is stored for short time.
Memory and Storage

■ Storage:
– Storage refers to physical storage devices.
– Data is stored both temporarily and permanently.
– Storage is slower than memory
– Storage cannot access or modify data as fast as the memory.
– It is a technology consisting of core components of a computer.
– When the computer loses the power, Data is not lost .
– Storage devices are cheaper.
– There size are much larger than memory and goes up to TBs.
– It is used when data is stored for long term.
Computer Memory

■ Computer memory is generally classified as: either

1- internal memory
2- external memory
1- Internal memory:
– also called "main or primary memory" refers to memory that stores small amounts of data that
can be accessed quickly while the computer is running.
2- 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 (SSD), USB flash drives, and compact discs.
Computer Memory
1- Internal memory

1- Internal memory:
– also called "main or primary memory" refers to memory that stores small amounts
of data that can be accessed quickly while the computer is running.
– Internal Memory is classified into:
a. Volatile Memory
b. Non-Volatile Memory
1- Internal memory (Cont.)

a. Volatile Memory: 
– It is the memory hardware that fetches/stores data at a high-speed. It is also
referred as temporary memory.
– The data within the volatile memory is stored till the system is capable of, but
once the system is turned off the data within the volatile memory is deleted
automatically. 
– Here, data fetch/store is fast and economical. 
– An Example of volatile memory:
■ RAM (Random Access Memory)
1- Internal memory (Cont.)

■ Random Access Memory (RAM): 

– It is also called read-write memory or the main memory or the primary memory.
– The programs and data that the CPU requires during the execution of a program
are stored in this memory.
– RAM is further classified into two types:
1- SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) and
2- DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).
1- Internal memory (Cont.)

1- Static Random Access Memory (SRAM):

– It is widely used in microprocessors, general computing applications and electronic
devices.
– The SRAM is volatile in nature that means the data stored in it gets all wiped out
once the power supply is cut.
 1- Internal memory (Cont.))
2- Dynamic RAM (DRAM):
– It stores each data bit as an electrical charge within a single bit cell.
– Memory modules for desktop computers are commonly known as DIMMs (dual inline
memory modules). 
– Laptop memory modules are commonly known as SODIMMs (small outline DIMMs).
– It is slower as compared to SRAM.

DDR4 DIMM for

Desktops
1- Internal memory (Cont.)

b. Non-Volatile Memory: 
– It is the type of memory in which data or information is not lost within the memory
even power is shut-down. 
– The most common example of non-volatile memory:
■ ROM (Read Only Memory)
– It’s not economical and slow in fetch/store as compared to volatile memory
however stores higher volume of data.
– All such information that needs to be stored for an extended amount of time is
stored in non-volatile memory.
2- External Memory (Storage Device)

■ A storage device is any type of computing hardware that is used for storing, porting or
extracting data files and objects.
■ Storage devices can hold and store information both temporarily and permanently.
■ They may be internal or external to a computer, server or computing device.
■ A mass storage device (MSD) is any storage device that makes it possible to store and
port large amounts of data across computers, servers and within an IT environment.
2- External Memory (Storage Device)

■ A mass storage device (MSD) is any storage device that makes it possible to store and
port large amounts of data across computers, servers and within an IT environment.
■ MSD is connected to the computer/server via a data transfer
interface, such as SCSI, USB or even Ethernet (for storage area
networks)
2- External Memory (Storage Device)

■ Some of the common MSDs include:

a. hard disk drives,
b. external hard drives
c. Solid-state hybrid drive (SSD)
d. optical drives,
e. tape drives,
f. flash drive,
g. USB storage devices.
■ Currently, typical MSD devices provide anywhere from a few gigabytes to petabytes of
data.
■ Internal MSDs generally can't be removed, whereas external MSDs can be easily
removed, ported and plugged into another computer.
2- External Memory (Storage Device)
a. Hard Disk Drive (HDD):
– A hard drive (sometimes abbreviated as HD or HDD) is a non-volatile data
storage device. 
– It is usually installed internally in a computer, attached directly to the disk
controller of the computer’s motherboard. 
– It contains one or more platters, housed inside of an air-sealed casing.
– The speed at which the disk can spin measured in revolutions per minute (RPM).
– The higher the RPM, the faster the drive.
– HDDs are also available as external units.
2- External Memory (Storage Device)

b. External Hard Drive:

 An external drive can also be connected via a network. This is often referred to as

Network Attached Storage (NAS).

2- External Memory (Storage Device)

c. Solid State Drive (SSD):

– Solid State Drives (SSD) are designed to replicate or supplement the function of
the hard drive .

– It is a transistor-based technology that does not need a power source to retain

information.

– SSDs are available as either standalone units or hybrids drives.

 2- External Memory (Storage Device)
d. Solid State Hybrid Drive (SSHD):

– A solid-state hybrid drive (SSHD) is a logical or physical storage device that combines a faster
storage medium such as solid-state drive (SSD) with a higher-capacity hard disk drive (HDD).

– The purpose of the SSD in a hybrid drive is to act as a cache for the data stored on the HDD,
improving the overall performance by keeping copies of the most frequently used data on the faster
SSD. 

– A SSHD resembles a standard HDD, but it also includes up to 8GB of high-speed flash memory.

– An SSHD is a combination HDD and SSD, offering up to 4TB of storage that can be accessed
several times faster than with an HDD.
 2- External Memory (Storage Device)

e. Optical Drive:
– An optical drive is a type of computer disk drive that reads and writes data from optical
disks through laser beaming technology. 
– Optical drives are fading from standard system configurations but are still useful for
creating and installing operating system recovery disc images, creating and installing
self-booting diagnostic apps, installing apps sold on DVD media, transferring
information to other users, and creating DVD or Blu-ray movie discs.
 2- External Memory (Storage Device)
f. Flash Drive:
– A flash drive (also known as a USB flash drive, data stick, pen drive, memory unit, keychain
drive, thumb drive, or a jump drive) is a portable storage device. 
– It is often the size of a human thumb and connects to a computer via a USB port.
– Flash drives are an easy way to store and transfer information between computers and
range in sizes from 1GB to 1TB. 
– Flash drives can be divided into two categories: USB and card-based drives.
– USB flash drives can be plugged directly into a USB port.
– Card-based flash drives must be plugged into a flash card reader before they can be used. 
 Local Network Storage Types
■ There are two types of devices that allow for a single storage location on a network which can
make sharing files between devices easier and make data backup and restoration simpler:
1- Network-attached storage (NAS)
2- File server
Local Network Storage Types

1- Network-attached storage (NAS):

– A NAS system is a storage device connected to a network that allows storage and
retrieval of data from a centralized location for authorized network users and
clients. 
– NAS is a self-contained storage device that contains one or more drives, a network
interface, and is bundled with software to enable computers on the network to
access the device.
Local Network Storage Types

2- File Server:
– A file server is a computer attached to a network that provides a location for shared
disk access, i.e. storage of computer files (such as text, image, sound, video) that
can be accessed by the workstations that are able to reach the computer that shares
the access through a computer network. 
– Current operating systems for PCs enable one computer to share files and folders
with others. However, for faster performance, business networks use file servers.
– A file server contains one or more drives, is connected to a network, and is designed
to transmit and receive files from multiple devices at the same time using one or
more Gigabit Ethernet or 10G Ethernet network adapters. 
– Data centers often use multiple file servers.
Cloud Storage Devices
■ Cloud storage is a model of computer data storage in which the digital data is stored in logical
pools. 

■ The physical storage spans multiple servers (sometimes in multiple locations), and the physical
environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting company. 

■ These cloud storage providers are responsible for keeping the data available and accessible, and
the physical environment protected and running.
Cloud Storage Devices
 People and organizations buy or lease storage capacity from the providers to store user,
organization, or application data. 

 Cloud storage services enable both personal and business users to access their information and
apps anywhere an internet connection is available.

 Services such as Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Apple iCloud, Dropbox, Amazon Drive,
and others offer subscriptions that provide access to specific amounts of cloud-based storage.
File Systems
 In order for the OS to able to read and write files to a drive, it must be partitioned and
formatted with a file system

 Partitioning a hard disk is the act of dividing it inti logically separate storage areas.

 Partitioning is done to improve the performance of the disk, to install multiple operating
systems, or to provide a logical separation of different data areas.

 At least one partition on the HDD or SSD must be created before performing a format to
create a file system.

 On the primary fixed disk, one of the partition must be made active, this is referred as the
system partition.
Windows Drive and File Systems

 In Windows, each formatted

partition can be allocated a drive
letter, from A through Z.

 The boot partition is usually

allocated the letter C.

 Each removable disk can also be

allocated a drive letter.
File Systems

 Each partition can be formatted with a different file system.

■ Under Windows:

 there is a choice between FAT and NTFS.

1- Fat (File allocation Table):

 This was used for older version of Windows and is preserved under Windows for compatibility. IT permits a

maximum file size of 4 GB and a maximum partition size of 32 GB.

File Systems

2- NTFS(New Technology File System):

 as a 64-bit addressing scheme, NTFS allows much larger partitions then FAT ( up to 2 TB).

 NTFS also supports extended attributes, allowing for file-level security permissions, compressions, and

encryption which make NTFS much more stable and secure than FAT.

■ CDs and DVDs:

 are often formatted using Universal Fisk Format (UDF).

File Systems

■ Under Linux:

 Most Linux distributions use some version of the ext file system to format partitions on mass storage devices.

 ext3 is a 64-bit file system with support for journaling.

■ Apple Mac workstations and laptops:

 use the extended Hierarchical File System (HFS+). The latest macOS version is being updated to the Apple File

System (APFS).

 Journal file system (JFS) allows track changes, giving better reliability and less chance of file

corruption in the event of crashes or power outages.

File Systems Features

A file system can be evaluated by considering the following features:

1- Compression: The file system applies a non-lossy algorithm to the file to find
ways to store the data in it more efficiently without discarding any information.

2- Encryption: the file system can automatically encrypt data in a file when it is
saved.

3- Permission: the file system maintains an Access Control List (ACL) for each file
or folder object. The ACL records which user accounts are allowed to read, write, or
control the object.
File Systems Features

4- Journaling: The file system track changes or intended changes in a log. Example: If
there is a sudden power cut and a write operation was interrupted, the journal may be
used to recover the data or at least restore the file system to good working order.

5- Limitations: File systems have limits in terms of their maximum capacity and size
of individual files (shown in next slide).

6- Naming rules: very old file systems limited the size of a file name to eight characters
plus a three-character extension. Modern file systems support longer file names. File
systems also have a number of reserved characters which cannot be used in a file name.
File Systems Features
Windows System Folders

■ A default installations creates the following three system folders:

1- Windows: the system toots containing drivers, logs, add-in applications, system and registry
files, and so on.

2- Program Files: subfolders for installed applications software.

3- Users: Storage for user’s profile settings and data

■ A 64-bit version of windows uses a “Program Files” folder for 64-bit applications
software and a “Program Files (x86)” folder for 32-bit applications software.
Linux Directories

■ Folder is a Windows-specific term. In Linux, these containers are called as

directories.

■ Linux uses the forward slash (/) to represent the root and as a directory delimiter.

■ There is no concepts od drives letters in Linux. Everything is represented is

through the file system.

■ A file system configured on a partition on a particular storage device is attached to

a particular directory within the unified file system using the mount command.
Ex- mount /dev/sda1. /mnt/mydrive
User Profiles

■ Each user has his or her own profile folder, stored under the Users system folder.

■ Files in each user’s profile are private .

■ Each profile folder contains subfolders for different types of file.

■ The profile folder also contains hidden subfolders used to store application
settings and customizations, favorite links, shortcuts, temporary files, and so on.

■ Windows also configure a Public profile to allow users of the PC to share files
between them.
File Explorer Options

■ The file Explorer Options applet

in Control Panel controls how
Explorer works.

■ The view tab contains a long list

of options how folder and files
are displayed in Explorer (such
as whether to show hidden files
or file extensions).
File Attributes and Permissions
■ A file’s name is just one of the file attributes.

■ Other attributes include the date the file was created, accessed, or modified, its size,
its description, and the following markers, which can be enables or disabled.
Folder and File permissions
■ Administrators can obtain full
permissions over any file, but
standard users can generally only
view and modify files stored either in
their profile or in the public profile.

■ Custom permissions can be

configured for a file or folder using a
security tab in its properties dialog.
User Permissions
■ The following permissions are available for a user
– Full control: allow the user to do anything with the object, including change its permissions
and its owner.

– Modify: allows the user to do most things with an object but not to change its permissions or
owner.

– Read/list/Execute: allow the user to view the contents of a file or folder or start a program.

– Write: allow the user to read a file and change it, or create a file within a folder, but not to
delete it.
View, Group, and Filter Options

■ The view options set how large icons are, and you can use details view to show
information about each file in columns.

■ The column headers or right-click menu also allows you to group and filter by the
information in that field:

■ Group: show icons in groups with dividers between them.

■ Filter: show only the files that match the selected criteria
File Types and Extensions

■ Word Processing Software: The following file formats are often used by word
processing software:

■ txt: a text-only file .Any application can open a text file, but this file type cannot
store any information about formatting or layout.

■ rtf: Rich Text Format is an early generic file format for sharing documents
between different word processing applications. Is is capable of storing basic
formatting information, such as font and paragraph formatting, and layouts
features, such as tables.
Common File Formats

■ File Types and Extensions:

– odf: the Open Document Format is an XML-based specification with better support for the features of
modern word processors than RTF.

– doc/docx: this format is the one used by Microsoft Word. The docx XML-based format was introduced
in Word 2007.

– Spreadsheet Software: Microsoft’s Excel spreadsheet software saves files with an xls or xlsx file
extension.

– Presentation Software: Microsoft’s PowerPoint presentation software saves files with a ppt or pptx file
extension.
Common File Formats

■ Image File Types:

– jpg/jpeg: Joint Pictures Expert Group: this lossy compression format is the most widely
used for photographic pictures. The lossy compression method relies on dithering the image
to some extent.

– gif: Graphics Interchange Format: this is an old lossless compression format. It only
support up to 8 bits per pixel, seriously limiting the available color palette.

– An 8-bit image can have up to 256 color values.

– Modern image formats support up to 24 bits per pixel., allowing a palette of millions of color
values.
Common File Formats
– tiff: Tagged Image File Format: this is a popular format for exchanging images between
editing applications. It can use lossless or JPEG compression.

– png: Portable Network Graphics: this is a full-color (24 bit) lossless format designed to
replace GIF. It also supports transparency.

– bmp: this is a Windows-only lossless format. It is not widely used due to its lack of
compatibility with other operating systems.

■ A lossy compression method irreversibly discards some of the original data.

This will reduce the quality of an image.
Common File Formats

■ Video File Types:

– mpg: this is an early MPEG (Motion Pictures Expert Group) standards for video files with
lossy compression.

– mp4: the MPEG-4 standard audio/video file format. The format acts as a container for audio
and video media streams.

– A number of different encoding methods are available (Example: H.264)

– flv: another container file format designed to deliver Flash Video. The HTML5 web page
coding language provides a standards based alternative to Flash.
Common File Formats
– wmv: a video container fore format developed by Microsoft. It is well supported by media
players and can also be used as the format for DVD and Blu-ray Discs.

– avi: a legacy Windows-only video format. It is a limited format with not much ongoing
support.
Common File Formats

■ Audio File Types:

– mp3: developed from MPEG, this remains one of the most popular formats for distributing
music and is almost universally supported by media players.

– The only drawback is that it is a lossy compression format, which means that some of the
audio information is discarded.

– aac: developed from MPEG as a successor to mp3. This format is also widely supported.

– m4a: This is an audio-only file format deriving from the MPEG-4 standards track. It usually
uses AAC compressions, though other methods are available.
Common File Formats
– Flac (Free Lossless Audio Codec): as the name suggest, format achieves file size
compression without discarding audio data. The only drawback is that it is not quite as
widely supported by media players.

– wav: This is an early Windows audio file format. It is not widely supported by media players
but may be used by audio editing applications
Common File Formats

■ Executable Files:
– An executable file is one that contains program code.

– exe: this is the basic type of program file in windows.

– msi: this is a Windows Installer file used to install and uninstall software applications under
Windows.

– app: this is the equivalent of an exe file for macOS.

– bat/cmd/vbs/js/ps1: contains a sequence of commands either from the O’s command

interpreter or from a scripting language.
Common File Formats

■ Compression Formats:
There are a number of compression utilities and formats:

– zip: OS can create and extract files from the archive without having to install a third-party
application.

– tar: this was originally a UNIX format for writing to magnetic tape but is still used with gzip
compression as a compressed file format for UNIX, Linux, and macOS. A third-party utility is
required to create and decompress tar files in Windows.

– rar: this proprietary format is used by the WinRAR compression program.

– 7z: this type if archive is created and opened using the open-source 7-zip compression utility.
Common File Formats
– gz: this type of archive is created and opened by the gzip utility, freely available for UNIX
and Linux computers. A number of Windows third-party utilities can work with g-zip
compressed files.

– iso: this is a file in one of the format used by optical media. Many OS can mount an image
file so that the contents can be read through the browser.

– vhd/vmdk: these are disk image file formats used with Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware
virtual machines respectively

– dmg: this is a disk image file format used by Apple macOS.