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What Is Direct Access Storage Device (DASD)?

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What's in a name? When it comes to DASDs, the answer is everything. DASDs are the type of storage that keeps data on disks and other magnetic media. They're called "direct-access" because they can be accessed directly by the CPU. Usually, when we refer to hard drives or different types of disk storage, we use the term "direct-access storage device." It's also called a "secondary" storage device because it's not directly connected to the CPU. You've probably heard of DASDs before, but maybe you didn't realize you Called them that. Well, now you know! DASDs usually have a slower access time than other forms of secondary storage. They have traditionally dedicated storage devices and are often not shared with other computing devices. DASDs are often used for archiving data and long-term data storage. The common types of DASDs are magnetic, optical, and solid-state drives. Magnetic disk drives use a magnetic read/write head to read and write data on a spinning disk. Optical disk drives use a laser to read and write data on a disc. DASDs are often dedicated hardware devices but can also be software emulated. You've probably heard of a hard drive. You might even be familiar with a USB drive. But what about a DASD? DASD stands for Direct Access Storage Device, and this term was coined for storage devices that IBM developed for use with mainframe computers. These are molded into the modern hard disk and its variants like the optical disk, which we would call secondary storage today. The first DASD was made in 1956 by IBM engineer Reynold B. Johnson, who used magnetic tape to store information on his computer. It wasn't until 1964 that DASD became commercially available for use in regular computers—and it's been there ever since!

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