The year 2016 marks the 60th anniversary of the venerable hard disk drive (HDD). The commercial use of hard disk drives began in 1957, with the shipment of an IBM 305 RAMAC system including IBM Model 350 disk storage, for which a US Patent No. This disk drive created a new level in the computer data hierarchy, then termed random access storage but today known as secondary storage. IBM’s San Jose, California laboratory invented the HDD.
This led to the invention of what subsequently became the hard disk drive. The company then went on to describe this as having high capacity with rapid random access to files.
In 1953, IBM recognised the importance and immediate application of what it called the ‘random access file’. From the many open source tools available in the market for this purpose, this article helps systems administrators decide which one is best for their systems.īefore discussing the need for backup software, some knowledge of the brief history of storage is recommended. To prevent a disastrous loss of data, regular backups are not only recommended but are de jure.
