AQA · GCSE · Computer Science
Course version: 8525 · Version from Sept 2020
Explain the term cloud storage. Students should understand that cloud…
Full specification wording
Systems architecture: Explain the term cloud storage. Students should understand that cloud storage uses magnetic and/or solid state storage at a remote location.
Cloud storage means storing files on hardware that is not the user's own device but sits at a remote location, reached over a network such as the internet.
Checked against the AQA 8525 specification (opens in a new tab) on .
- Point 28 of 30
Study notes
From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.
The idea
Cloud storage means storing files on hardware that is not the user's own device but sits at a remote location, reached over a network such as the internet. The remote hardware itself is ordinary secondary storage: it may use magnetic media such as hard disk drives, solid state storage such as SSDs, or a combination of both. The defining features are therefore remoteness (the data is held elsewhere, managed by a provider) and the underlying storage technologies. A good answer names both: data held on remote servers, using magnetic and/or solid state storage. Contrast this with saving a file to the local hard drive of the computer in front of you, which is not cloud storage even though the technology is similar.
What earns the marks
- States that cloud storage holds data at a remote location rather than on the user's local device.
- States that the remote storage uses magnetic storage, such as hard disk drives.
- States that the remote storage uses solid state storage, such as SSDs, or a combination of magnetic and solid state.
- Recognises that the data is accessed over a network, typically the internet, from the remote location.
Common mistakes and how to put them right
Describing cloud storage as storage that exists only in the air or has no physical hardware.
Put it right by explaining that real magnetic and/or solid state hardware at a remote location holds the data.
Assuming cloud storage must be solid state only.
Put it right by allowing magnetic and/or solid state storage at the remote site.
Confusing cloud storage with local storage on the user's own device.
Put it right by emphasising the remote location and network access.
Exam tips
- Include both parts of the definition: remote location and magnetic and/or solid state storage.
- Use a concrete example, such as files held on a provider's servers and accessed over the internet, to make the explanation clear.
- Avoid over-claiming a single technology; say magnetic and/or solid state to match the specification.
Try the lesson
The start of the Systems architecture: Explain the term cloud storage. Students should understand that cloud storage uses magnetic and/or solid state storage at a remote location. lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.
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