Data Organization

Data storage systems have several layers.

Layer 1

Requires specialized laboratories.

• communication devices: Ethernet, 3G, UMTS, ...

• physical store mediums: hard disks, memory chips, CD-ROMs, ...

Layer 2

Reading logical data (streams of 0s and 1s).

• Volatile memory (RAM) – data typically organized by processes.

• Non-volatile storage – data typically organized into volumes.

  • Typically organized into volumes (partitions, RAID arrays, ...).

  • Analyze data at the volume level to find possible hidden data.

Layer 3

• file system (most common content).

• temporary space: swap space in Linux or pagefile in Windows

• direct database (without traditional file system), such as Google file system, ...

Layer 4

• Operating systems (Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, Android, iOS, ...)

• Applications (operating system dependent)