Table 2.

Comparison of digital storage media

	Magnetic discs	Optical media	Magnetic tape
Access	Random access	Sequential access	Sequential access
Storage capacity	Up to 300 GB	Up to 30 GB	Up to 500 GB
Write speed	Fast	Slow	Slow
Read speed	Fast	Fast	Slow
Study retrieval time	Few seconds	10 s or more	1 min or more
Life expectancy	Excellent; May get corrupted	Excellent if handled properly	Finite
Relative cost	Very high	Low	Very low
Use	Online; Immediate access	Nearline; long-term archive; Disaster recovery	Offline; long-term archive; Disaster recovery

Table modified from reference ⁹