File Server Definition As the name implies, a file server is a server that provides access to files. It acts as a central file storage location that can be accessed by multiple systems. File servers are commonly found in enterprise settings, such as company networks, but they are also used in schools, small organizations, and even home networks. A file server may be a dedicated system, such as network attached storage (NAS) device, or it may simply be a computer that hosts shared files. Dedicat...

SCSI Definition Stands for "Small Computer System Interface," and is pronounced "scuzzy." SCSI is a computer interface used primarily for high-speed hard drives. This is because SCSI can support faster data transfer rates than the commonly used IDE storage interface. SCSI also supports daisy-chaining devices, which means several SCSI hard drives can be connected to single a SCSI interface, with little to no decrease in performance. The different types of SCSI interfaces are listed below: SCS...

HDD Definition Stands for "Hard Disk Drive." "HDD" is often used interchangeably with the terms "hard drive" and "hard disk." However, the term "hard disk drive" is technically the most accurate, since "hard drive" is short for "hard disk drive" and the "hard disk" is actually contained within the hard disk drive. The HDD is the most common storage device used to store data. Most computers made in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s include an internal hard disk drive. The first PCs had hard drives tha...

SSD Definition Stands for "Solid State Drive." An SSD is a type of mass storage device similar to a hard disk drive (HDD). It supports reading and writing data and maintains stored data in a permanent state even without power. Internal SSDs connect to a computer like a hard drive, using standard IDE or SATA connections. While SSDs serve the same function as hard drives, their internal components are much different. Unlike hard drives, SSDs do not have any moving parts (which is why they are cal...

Optical Media Meaning Media, in the computer world, refers to various types of data storage. For example, hard drives, CDs, DVDs, and USB drives are all different types of media. Optical media refers to discs that are read by a laser. This includes CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and all the variations of the two formats -- CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, Blu-ray, and many others. Optical media typically does not have as fast of a seek time as hard drives (the time it takes to access information on different ...

Flash Memory Definition Flash memory is a type of electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). Whew, that's a mouthful. The name comes from how the memory is designed -- a section of memory cells can be erased in a single action or in a "flash." A common use of flash memory is to store the BIOS settings in a computer's ROM. When the BIOS needs to be changed, the flash memory can be written in blocks, rather than bytes, making it easy to update. Most modems use flash memory for t...

Secondary Memory Definition Secondary memory refers to storage devices, such as hard drives and solid state drives. It may also refer to removable storage media, such as USB flash drives, CDs, and DVDs. Unlike primary memory, secondary memory is not accessed directly by the CPU. Instead, data accessed from secondary memory is first loaded into RAM and is then sent to the processor. The RAM plays an important intermediate role, since it provides much faster data access speeds than secondary memo...

Primary Memory Definition Primary memory is computer memory that is accessed directly by the CPU. This includes several types of memory, such as the processor cache and system ROM. However, in most cases, primary memory refers to system RAM. RAM, or random access memory, consists of one or more memory modules that temporarily store data while a computer is running. RAM is volatile memory, meaning it is erased when the power is turned off. Therefore, each time you start up your computer, the ope...

ROM Definition Stands for "Read-Only Memory." Please do not confuse this term with RAM or a hard drive, as many people already do. ROM is memory containing hardwired instructions that the computer uses when it boots up, before the system software loads. In PCs, the instructions are read from a small program in the ROM, called the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System).

RDRAM Definition Stands for "Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory." It is a type of RAM made by Rambus (big surprise) and is the fastest type of computer memory available. Typical SDRAM can transfer data at speeds up to 133 MHz, while standard RDRAM can crank it up over 1 GHz. Though some motherboards can use RDRAM as system memory, it is so fast, most boards cannot fully benefit from the speed. Because of this, RDRAM is typically used for video memory on graphics acclerator cards, for cache memo...