IT Fundamentals: Tutorial 3 Assignment on Data Storage Solutions

This IT Fundamentals assignment explores various data storage solutions, focusing on external hard drives and cloud storage services like OneDrive. The assignment begins with an evaluation of external hard drives, specifically the Samsung portable SSD T5, discussing its features, connectivity, and price comparison. It then delves into the functionalities of OneDrive, outlining the process of automatically saving documents and sharing files. A case study is presented, requiring the student to analyze the storage needs of a small business, comparing the benefits and drawbacks of both cloud storage and external hard drives. The student recommends a combination of methods, suggesting cloud storage for administrative staff and internal hard drive storage for sales employees, considering data confidentiality, retention, and remote access needs. The final report supports these recommendations, highlighting the importance of data security and redundancy within the business.

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Question 1:
A convenient way to back up your internal hard drive is to use an external one.
When hard drives had smaller storage capacities, they were backed up on a series of floppy
disks. As capacities grew in size, hard drives were backed up on CDs, DVDs, and now BDs.
Another way to back up your internal hard drive is to use an external hard drive. Go to PC
Magazine’s website to read reviews on external hard drives, and then answer the following
questions.
1. Visit PC Magazine’s site to check out the latest reviews, top-rated products, and buying
guide. Decide which drive you would purchase, and explain why.
The drive that I will purchase is Samsung portable SSD T5. This hard drive provides
excellent performance, it includes USB-C and USB 3.0 cables. The hard drive is compatible
with several operating systems such as Windows, Android and Mac. The advantage of this
drive is that it has a comparable good per-gigabyte value. In addition the drive has a enough
and reliable storage and its size is convenient for the pocket.
2. How does the external drive connect to a computer?
To connect an external drive to a computer entails some steps:
In case the external drives needs a power code, it should be connected to the back of the hard
drive. The end of the power code which connect to the hard drive normally has a small round
connector, thus the other end is connected to the power code to a power outlet and if no
power cord is needed this step can be skipped.
If the USB cable is not part of the external hard drive, one end of the cable should be
connected to the hard drive and then the other end of the cord connected to the USN port
located on the computer.

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The other end of the USB cable is plugged into a USB portal on the computer.
Once the USB cable has been connected to the computer the external hard drive it should
automatically be recognized by the operating system of the computer, which then fins and
install the necessary drivers.
3. Use any search engine to find the best price for the drive you selected. Before you
decide where to purchase it, go to www.resellerratings.com, and check the store’s
rating. What is the best price for the external drive, and from what company would you
purchase it?
The best price for Samsung portable SSD T5 is approximately $780. The company that I
would purchase the Samsung portable SSD T5 drive is Amazon Company
Question 2:
Working with the Cloud
Microsoft’s SkyDrive cloud storage has been renamed OneDrive. However, some Microsoft
information may still reference SkyDrive.
Visit the Microsoft site at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/getting-started-
skydrive-tutorial?ocid=onedrive_site_supportlink and answer the following questions.
1. What is the process for automatically saving documents and photos to OneDrive?
To automatically save documents and photos to Onedrive involves the following steps:
One has to click on the OneDrive icon in the notification area, then select the menu button in
the top-right corner. The next step is to select the setting option and then click auto save tab.
Then using the drop-down menus one should select OneDrive for “Desktop” “Document”
and “Pictures”. Lastly one click the OK button to complete the process. On completing these

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procedure all filed placed on the desktop will automatically save to OneDrive. When saving
files one will be provided with save to Documents or Pictures folders within OneDrive by
default.
2. Find out how much free storage space is in your OneDrive account by returning to
Change PC settings, tapping or clicking SkyDrive, and then tapping or clicking Buy
more storage. What is the current maximum amount and how much space is left?
I cannot use my machine to tackle this task let the client try with their machine I am not
ready to loose data because I do not have an external drive to back up my data.
3. How do you share OneDrive files with others?
To share OneDrive files with others is done by inviting people through email. One send out
an email message containing links of the files they intend to hare using the following steps:
While in OneDrive one should select the file they intend to share and then click the share
button located on OneDrive toolbar at the top of the screen. One then chooses the people they
want to invite and then enter their email addresses and enter a message. Next step is to
choose the access privileges on the drop-down menu that the recipient can view and then
click the share button.
4. Have you used your OneDrive account? If you have, which devices—desktop, laptop,
tablet, phone, etc.—have you used to access your account?
Yes. I have used OneDrive account with my laptop.
Question 3:
Case Study:

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You’ve have joined a small business that’s beginning to evaluate its technology setup. Because
of the addition of several new sales representatives and other administrative employees, the
company needs to reconsider the various ways its data is stored. You’ve been asked to evaluate
options for on-site and off-site data storage.
a) Explores the benefits and downfalls of cloud storage.
Benefits
 Disaster recover: When one uses cloud storage, the data is at a reduced risk of
system failure because all the data is stored and backed-up to an external device
which is far away from the present data location.
 Data can be accessed from any place: Since data stored in cloud is remotely stored
it is possible to access it at all location on of the world. This is highly significant
in cases where operations need frequent retrieval for teams that are located at
dissimilar time zones.
Downfalls
Absence of total control: Data store in clouds is held offsite a business hence it does not
have control hence it cannot customize the data storage set-up. Certainly, this could be a
problem for big corporations that have complex storage requirements.
b) Explores the benefits and downfalls of external hard drives
Benefits
Ease of use: It is easy to connect and disconnected from a computer.
Highly portable: external hard drives are portable in several ways. They are physically
portable since one can move several terabytes at a very fast speed by plugging and

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unplugging it to a computer. It is also portable between systems using different operating
systems.
Speed: External drives have the ability to transfer data at a high speed of up to
150MB/sec from a single drive.
Downfalls
External hard drive breaks easily: One can easily break an external drive by dropping it.
Overheating: External hard drives experience overheating because they have not be
installed in a way that allow them to allow proper cooling.
c) Explores the benefits and downfalls of portable storage devices
Benefits
Online safety: portable storage devices permit users to back up their data far from the
main internal hard drive, which secure it from being compromised by online and offline
practices.
Extra storage: portable storage devices offers additional space which frees up room on
the main computing system.
Plug-and-play: portable storage devices can function on a plug-and-play manner since
they comes with Firewire and USB that enable for universal connection for personal
computers.
Downfalls
Portable storage devices are expensive which means that one has to pay more per
gigabyte unlike how they could pay for a bigger hard drive.
d) Think about what the storage needs are for the company and what information and
resources you will need to tackle this project.

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The storage needs for a small business company include a cloud storage and internal hard
drive storage computers. The information needed to tackle this project is to determine if
the new sales representatives and other administrative employees will be located in a
central point or distributed to different geographical location. This information will help
to determine the resource such if to use portable hard drives or only back up data using
cloud storage.
e) Research and then discuss the components of each method you’re recommending.
Are any of these options better suited for the particular needs of certain types of
employees (sales representatives versus administrative staff)? Consider the types of
data to be stored. Is some data confidential? How long should it be retained?
The small business should use cloud storage for storing its sales data. The cloud storage
will allow the administrative staff to access the company sales information from their
locations because cloud storage allows for remote access to organization data. The sales
data is for business purposes hence it should not be confidential and it has to be retained
for at least a year because it can be used in analyzing the company’s sales progress.
f) Consider the different types of employees in the company. Would a combination of
methods be better than a single solution? If so, what kinds of employees would use
which type of storage?
The business should use both cloud storage method and use of internal hard drive storage
of the company’s information. The sales employees should be allowed to use the internal
hard drive storage to store the sales data of the business operations. On the other hand,
administrative employees should use both internal storage drives and cloud storage to
allow for data back-up in case of system failure by the hard drive system.

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g) As a team leader, write a summary report, support your recommendation for the
company. Each team member should include why his or her idea data storage
option will or will not be part of the solution.
Data is critical in the business for several reasons such as making business decisions,
developing novel services and products and engaging with clients. Therefore, to make use
of all data, the business needs a suitable way to store the data that is convenient to
manage and access. The operation of the business will call for both internal hard drive
storage and cloud storage. The data should be protected from cyberattacks. Hence the
business should put redundancies in place to make sure the data does not get lost,
destructed and become inaccessible because of system downtime. The company should
implement a private cloud using a virtualized data center as a mechanism to offer high
security levels.

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