IT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

IT - Research Paper Example Thus, it is advised by computer experts to keep a backup of the information and resources that are stored on computer systems. This paper will focus upon the various storage devices that can be used by computer users to keep a backup of their information and resources, and the differences between redundant and backup data storage and how systems fail and how can they be protected. Backup Media Various forms of backup media available to users include: optical storage methods such as writeable and re-writable CDs and DVDs, external and internal hard disks that can be mounted on the systems and flash memory systems such as pen drives, USB drives and memory cards. Information stored on optical drives can last for very long period of time if these drives are kept safely, secondly these drives are even available in write once only form. This is an advantage because the data that is stored on these drives cannot be replaced or over-written. These drives even come in re-writable form; this m eans that same drive can be used do over write if old information is no longer needed. These drives are easy to move from one pc to another, these drives can be used in several systems but one system can use it at a time. Another downside of optical drives is that the time taken by these drives to write data and store information on them is considerably high if compared to the time taken by flash drives and other forms of memory drives. Another form of backup media that can come in handy for computer users is installing a second hard drive internally or externally. The advantages of having a second hard disk are enormous. Firstly, the second hard disk can act as a backup for files stored on your system; this will come in handy if the files from the first hard disk are deleted. Another advantage of using an extra hard disk is that the process of backing up files in a second hard disk is faster as compared to backing up these files in an optical drive or a USB flash memory drive. Havi ng a second hard disk is even of advantage as the files and the resources that have been downloaded over time on the computer system can be safe and the users d not have to take the pain of downloading and saving these resources again. All the operations conducted in a computer system take place on the first hard disk or the primary hard disk, due to this continuous usage, the hard disk becomes old and starts wearing out and ultimately the user has to replace it. When two hard disks are involved in the process of running a computer system, the burden of running the computer system is shared and both the hard disks gain higher functional life time. Disadvantages associated with installing a second hard disk are few in number. Firstly, hard disks have to be dealt with extra care, misuse may easily damage or corrupt the hard disk and data loss may occur, secondly, if the drive is installed inside the system, moving the drive to another system might become difficult and during the trans fer, the chances of damage are quite high. One of the best backup media designed to-date is USB flash memory drives/sticks. The advantages of using this media are: they are very small in size and can hold huge amount o information, they are easy to move and do not contain parts that might get corrupted if they are mishandled. These drives are even better than optical drives as they cannot be destroyed due to scratches and dust. Installing them is much easier than installing hard disks as they do not need