Storage Management

OS provides uniform, logical view of information storage

Abstracts physical properties to logical storage unit  - file

Each medium is controlled by device (i.e., disk drive, tape drive)

Varying properties include access speed, capacity, data-transfer rate, access method (sequential or random)

File-System management

Files usually organized into directories

Access control on most systems to determine who can access what

OS activities include

Creating and deleting files and directories

Primitives to manipulate files and dirs

Mapping files onto secondary storage

Backup files onto stable (non-volatile) storage media