Secondary storage is – stores programs and data nonvolatile as opposed to volatile (temporary) storage (RAM) which is lost when power shut off to computer. Media – actual physical material that hold data Capacity – amount of data the storage medium can hold Access time – amount of time to retrieve and write data
Sequential access because they have to be fast forwarded or rewound before a specific location can be reached. A common sequential access method of Two forms of tape storage Magnetic tape cartridges, also called magnetic tape streamers Magnetic tape reels Tapes are run on magnetic tape drives or magnetic tape units