ACCESS TIME MYTH.

Abstract

The performance of magnetic disk storage devices has traditionally been characterized by a figure of merit, the nominal 'access time'. This specification is often claimed to be a measure of the mechanical motion and settling time of the head actuator in completing the average request to storage. The design of high performance magnetic disk storage today is strongly influenced by efforts to reduce the access time. This paper questions the significance of the access time and the assumptions of the model often used to calculate this time delay.