Evolution of Data Storage
Many changes in culture have resulted in the evolution of data storage over time. The more advancements meant more data that needed to be stored. One of the first major changes of how information was collected and stored was the development of punch cards. They were used for player pianos, textile looms, and even ballot counting . When another change happened, information taking the form of electronic data, IBM introduced the magnetic tape. This allowed for a larger storage capacity of data. This magnetic media led to the introduction of more data storage technology. Then in the 1980’s Philips introduced the CD which helped with storing computer data.
As time passed more data was being produced which required faster processing power. Today humans are producing more data than ever before. This has always been the main change in data storage. The more data produced the more of a need there is to use smaller components with larger storage. This led to the punch card to magnetic tape, to the USB and hard drives and now even DNA. Although smaller storage capacity is an efficient way to store media, there is also a larger concept, the cloud, which is becoming another part of the future of data storage. The cloud can contain multitudes of data and many big companies like Amazon and Google are researching to gain a lead in the field. The cloud is another result of the large amounts of data needed to be stored today and along with holograms and quantum storage the future has so many possibilities.
Cloud Storage
The cloud is all of the things you can access on the internet. When you store something in the cloud it is on the internet servers and not your computer. It allows you to access your files on any internet server. There are actually different types of cloud storage. There is object storage which stores your photos and videos and file storage which is used in different applications. The term cloud was used for this off-site storage because it describes the servers that the data is stored on and that users can access data through. One advantage of cloud storage is if you store your data in the cloud you can access your files from anywhere. “You can even work on a file where you’re far away from your desk, and share it with anyone instantly”(
Computer Basics: What is the Cloud, LearnFree). Another advantage is that it is cost effective, You only pay for the information you store with nothing physical to purchase and some apps like Google Docs even let users work and upload to the cloud for free. The next advantage is that storing files in the cloud allows them to be collaborative. You and others can access your files from multiple devices and locations allowing your photos, videos documents and projects to be shared. The aforementioned Google Docs also lets users collaborate on their cloud uploaded files.
3-2-1 Backup Plan
The 3-2-1 backup plan is a data backup strategy for keeping your data safe. The strategy is to keep three copies of your data on two different types of media with one copy off sight. It is an efficient way to store your important data with multiple fail safes. There are backup and archival copies. The difference is that backup copies are active files that are synced and readily available. Archive files are copies that are somewhere else and not within your reach. Automatic syncing is essential to keep all backups up to date because “if you change the files, the changes are synced to the remote location”(
10 Common Backup Mistakes Most People Make, Fitzpatrick). This means whenever you change your document all of the changes will be saved automatically. A possible backup plan for a Trinity student’s assignments is to have three backup copies, one on their computer, one on a hard drive and another on the cloud. Next they should save their three copies to two different devices, one on their computer and another on an external hard drive. Finally they should have at least one copy off-site in the cloud. This way all of their school assignments will be backed up safely if they lose something.
