When I began working in IBM’s storage division, I realised something: I had used storage all my life — but never really understood what it was. This post is a back-to-basics breakdown, written for anyone trying to figure it out, just like I did.

Why Go Back to the Basics?

After sharing my journey into storage systems and reflecting on resilience at the Siachen base camp, I realized I was missing something: a clean, beginner-friendly explanation of what storage and operating systems even are.

This post is for the curious mind just getting started — whether you’re from a CS background or not. Because when you really understand the fundamentals, everything else starts making sense.

What Is Storage?

At its core, storage is any method a computer uses to retain data — not just for the moment, but for as long as it’s needed.

The two main types:

Primary Storage (RAM) – fast, temporary, volatile
Secondary Storage (SSD, HDD) – slower, permanent, non-volatile

Storage is where:

Your files live after shutdown
Applications get installed
Logs are written
Databases persist
Operating systems boot from

Without storage, a computer is just a processor with no memory.

Why Is It So Important?

Because everything today is data-driven. From personal photos to enterprise-scale databases — storage is what keeps information alive.

And when systems scale — from one laptop to a distributed cloud — the way data is stored, accessed, backed up, and recovered becomes mission-critical.

How Does Storage Work?

Here’s a basic flow:

You create a file
The OS tells the file system where and how to save it
The file gets written in blocks on a storage device (SSD, HDD, or network storage)
Metadata (filename, timestamp, permissions) is stored too
Later, when you access the file, the OS retrieves it using this mapping

It sounds simple — but at scale, it’s a full-blown architectural challenge. And that’s what makes it fascinating.

But Where Does the OS Fit Into All This?

The Operating System (OS) is the brain behind how storage is used.

It decides:

How files are created and managed
Which process gets access to which file
How memory is allocated and deallocated
How devices (like SSDs) communicate with applications

In short: the OS is the middleman between the user, applications, and the hardware.

Understanding the OS is key to understanding how storage works — and why some systems scale while others fail.

Why I'm Starting From Here

Because I don’t just want to use storage systems. I want to understand how they work, what they rely on, and how to build them better. To do that, I’m going back to the foundations:

How operating systems manage memory
How data moves between layers of the system
How files are structured and accessed
How distributed systems maintain data consistency

And I’ll be writing everything I learn — from first principles to enterprise design patterns.

TL;DR

Storage is how computers retain data, either temporarily or permanently
The OS controls how storage is used, accessed, and protected
Understanding the basics is critical to building reliable, scalable systems
This blog series will explore storage and OS from the ground up

What’s Next

Next up: I’ll be breaking down the role of RAM, virtual memory, and paging — and how they shape system performance.

If you're just starting out in storage or systems thinking, follow along. I’m keeping it real, simple, and honest — exactly how I needed it when I started.

Thanks for reading.

What Is Storage, Really? Starting From Scratch