Short essay on the use of disk systems for large computers
The disks used by large computers- mainframes, super-minis, and superÂcomputers- are commonly 14-inch-diameter aluminium platters that are coated on both sides with a magnetizable substance such as ferrous oxide.Records are stored in concentric rings, or tracks. Characters are repreÂsented by binary bits, which appear as magnetic fields on the tracks. Each track may consist of several records. ADVERTISEMENTS: On most disk systems that serve large computers, each track is designed to carry the same total amount of data even though the tracks near the outer edge are much longer than those nearer the center and move past the read/write heads faster.This design constraint keeps the data transfer rate constant throughout the system, independent of the location of the track being accessed. The number of tracks per disk varies among manufacturers,…