A complete physical unit containing both the storage medium and the read/write mechanisms required to access it. Examples include hard disk drives, solid-state drives, and tape drives. It interfaces with the host system via buses like SATA, SAS, or NVMe.
Heard on the job
The server failed to boot because the primary storage device dropped off the bus.
Also heard as
- drive
Do not mix it up with
- Storage medium: The storage device is the mechanical or electronic hardware, while the storage medium is the actual material (like a magnetic platter) holding the data.