Disk Storage and Scheduling
• Understanding How Data is Stored and
Accessed on Disks
• Presented by: [Your Name]
• Date: [Date]
Introduction
• Importance of disk storage in modern
computing
• Need for efficient data access
• Goal: Learn disk structure & scheduling
algorithms
Types of Disk Storage
• Magnetic Disks (HDDs)
• Solid State Drives (SSDs)
• Optical Disks
• Comparison: Speed, durability, cost
Disk Structure
• Platters and tracks
• Sectors and cylinders
• Read/write head and arm
• Seek time, rotational latency, transfer time
Disk Performance Metrics
• Seek Time: Time to move the head to the
desired track
• Rotational Latency: Waiting for the sector to
spin under the head
• Transfer Time: Time to transfer data
• Access Time = Seek + Latency + Transfer
What is Disk Scheduling?
• Purpose: Minimize seek time
• When multiple I/O requests are pending,
order of service matters
• Managed by the operating system
Disk Scheduling Algorithms
• First Come First Serve (FCFS)
• Shortest Seek Time First (SSTF)
• SCAN (Elevator)
• C-SCAN (Circular SCAN)
• LOOK and C-LOOK
FCFS Scheduling
• Simple, fair
• Poor average performance
• Example diagram
SSTF Scheduling
• Picks the request closest to current head
position
• Better performance than FCFS
• Starvation possible
SCAN & C-SCAN
• SCAN: Head moves in one direction servicing
requests, then reverses
• C-SCAN: Only services requests in one
direction, wraps around
• Reduces variance in response time
LOOK & C-LOOK
• Like SCAN, but only goes as far as the last
request in the direction
• More efficient than SCAN/C-SCAN
Algorithm Comparison
• FCFS - High seek time, no starvation, high
fairness
• SSTF - Medium seek time, possible starvation,
low fairness
• SCAN - Low seek time, no starvation, medium
fairness
• C-SCAN - Medium seek time, no starvation,
high fairness
• LOOK - Lower seek time, no starvation, high
fairness
Choosing the Right Algorithm
• Depends on system goals
• SSTF for performance-focused systems
• SCAN/C-SCAN for fairness
• Modern systems may combine algorithms
Disk Scheduling in SSDs
• SSDs have no moving parts → minimal seek
time
• Scheduling still matters due to parallelism and
wear leveling
Conclusion
• Efficient disk scheduling improves
performance
• Multiple algorithms available based on needs
• Important in both HDDs and SSDs
References
• Operating System Concepts by Silberschatz et
al.
• OS textbooks & academic sources
• Any other websites or videos used