A disk or memory cache that supports the caching of writing. Data normally written to memory or to disk by the CPU is first written into the cache. During idle machine cycles, the data are written from the cache into memory or onto disk. Write back caches improve performance, because a write to the high-speed cache is faster than to normal RAM or disk.
Write Back Adds a Delay
A write back cache for disks adds a slight amount of risk, because the data remain in volatile memory longer. At shut down, the operating system typically adds a small delay to ensure the write cache is emptied. If it is necessary to turn the computer off in a hurry because of an imminent loss of power, a write back cache will keep data in memory for a couple extra seconds before being saved to disk. See write through cache.
Write Back Adds a Delay
A write back cache for disks adds a slight amount of risk, because the data remain in volatile memory longer. At shut down, the operating system typically adds a small delay to ensure the write cache is emptied. If it is necessary to turn the computer off in a hurry because of an imminent loss of power, a write back cache will keep data in memory for a couple extra seconds before being saved to disk. See write through cache.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Is imminent Chrome OS launch reckless?
- First Impressions"first impressions are extremely important."Yup, Vista SP1/SP2 is a good operating system. Microsoft botched the initial release of Vista, and it gave a good operating system a permanently bad name.reckless not sure dangerous surely i may sound stupid or ill inform but ...What will be Chrome...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-14
- Walmart unveils 15.6" HP Pavilion G60 laptop for $298
- hmmfor once, i agree with you. why are they still making the celeron...? shouldn't the atom replace that?Intel Celeron?is Inhel still making this 10 year old crap?surplus maybe? ntnti feel 298 is bad for celron processor..but still good option for ppl who r new to these creepy labtops..RE: Walmart unveils...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-04
- AMD posts another quarterly loss
- If AMD can't produce...a CPU that will compare with Intel in performance they may not be around for a lot longer. They are so completely outclassed by Intel i7 that they aren't even in the ball park. It is hard to believe they can't come up with something ant closer.I...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-15
- MSI X340 might be the best laptop you've never heard of
- Glossy LCD? No thanksA Lenovo X300 from the Lenovo Outlet for about $1100 seems to be the best deal to me. For an extra $400 beyond the MSI you get a fast SSD, higher resolution non-glossy display though the viewing angle and contrast is rather disappointing, a second processing core,...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-24
- A Good Year for Security Collaboration
- Guest Editorial by George Stathakopoulos It seems like just yesterday when I was at Black Hat. Now as I get ready to fly to Las Vegas again, I look forward to seeing a lot of security researchers, hearing their latest exploits and how they fared over the...
- Blog posts 2009-07-27
- Adaptec v. the lithium-ion battery
- 5Z RAID controllers with NAND flash memory, courtesy Adaptec. Adaptec is coming out with a product for datacenters that is so obvious, so simple, so why-didn't-we think-of that. Flash memory that is constantly updated rather than hard-drives that need battery power to allow data retrieval. Why...
- Blog posts 2009-06-24
- Apple vs. Microsoft: Yet another upgrade pricing fiasco
- Apple vs. Microsoft: Yet another upgrade pricing fiascoPlus OS X is complete OS for one price.Not only is the price for the various Win 7 crippleware still outrageous compared to OS X, but with OS X you get the entire OS for that much lower price. It's a double-strike against...
- Discussion threads 2009-06-09
- Conficker: a good excuse for an early spring cleaning
- Some of you have probably heard about Conficker.C, the computer virus/worm that is set to activate on April 1st. Conficker.C exploits a particular vulnerability in Windows that was announced in October of 2008 which allows code to be remotely executed. Nobody exactly knows what Conficker.C is supposed to do on...
- Blog posts 2009-03-27
- Should the Mac Mini die?
- Should the Mac Mini die?Most everyone who owns one appears to really like it.Performance wise you're the first person I've seen who had anything less than favorable to say about it.RE: Should the Mac Mini die?I have a spare 19" LCD at home that is just waiting for the new...
- Discussion threads 2008-11-06
- Whispers from a ghost: Windows 7 and cloud computing
- Whispers from a ghost: Windows 7 and cloud computingYou don't mention it until MS is involvedMS is a latecomer to the party. Yet you single out MS for this. Well, since you're so confident - why don't you put a bet on it? How much money will you put up...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-30
- Chrome is 42x faster than IE7, 9x faster than FF3
- Chrome is 42x faster than IE7, 9x faster than FF3Pretty amazing!! It seems like we DO need competition to foster innovation.NT.Chrome and key logging!http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/web_services_browser/chrome_privacy_is_full_of_dents.htmlRE: Chrome is 42x faster than IE7, 9x faster than FF3Well please, by all means, do the opposite give us an example of ANY javascript test that...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-03
- Wordcamp 2008
- In the quiet flats of University of California San Francisco Mission Bay campus, bloggers, thinkers, journalists, developers, and inventors melt together for a full day of lectures and learning. The goal of Wordcamp 2008 is to figure out the future of publishing on the web. ...
- Blog posts 2008-08-16
- QikFix 4.4.04 (Windows)
- File Shredder: This is a utility that not only permanently deletes a file but it destroys it first, making it completely unrecoverable and unreadable. It rewrites all sectors and pointers used by the file. It can even shred all the free space on your hard drive without damaging existing files....
- Software downloads 2008-07-08
- Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
- The $180 320GB Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive (HDDR320E03X) is the second drive from Toshiba we've reviewed bearing the Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive name. The design has been updated in this new version, but unfortunately, the performance remains just as uninspiring as the original's....
- Product reviews 2008-07-07
- Maxtor Black Armor
- We're not surprised to see the Maxtor Black Armor emerge in a time when so much confidential data is transported by external hard drives. The 10GB Black Armor drive ($150) is a portable storage device with built-in Advanced Encryption Standard hardware-based encryption to prevent digital theft. Unfortunately, this added security...
- Product reviews 2008-06-18
- 'Sensing' more about what's coming in Windows 7
- 'Sensing' more about what's coming in Windows 7Windows sensors will bring a new management interfaceto set them up, and then they'll crash unexpectedly, and make things stop responding.There'll be a "grandfather" sensor which automatically reboot the machine, and does some protocol sniffing on your box, to make sure that Microsoft...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-18
- Don't download Firefox 3 yet
- Don't download Firefox 3 yetRE: Don't download Firefox 3 yetHaha, just one of those marketing gimmicks! Does Mozilla have sufficient bandwidth for the hordes or downloaders? ;)RE: Don't download Firefox 3 yetFirefox 3 is hosted by Google's servers. I think the goog can handle both the server...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-17
- Samsung announces 3G 'iPhone killer'
- Samsung announces 3G 'iPhone killer'3GCan you honestly believe 3G wasn't solid enough to add? It's not like it was brand new, or GPS perhaps?If lacking those features...already available in other phones is not a flaw, then yes, you are correct.Other people who don't chug the Kool-Aid might think otherwise.Not...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-09
- Thinking about multicore and software
- Informit.com recently ran a fascinating Andrew Binstock interview with Donald Knuth touching on some of the same topics we discuss here - programming methods, the value of open source, and the links between programming and hardware change. I want to get...
- Blog posts 2008-06-09
- Mozilla: Firefox 3 is not buggy but RC2 may be necessary
- Mozilla: Firefox 3 is not buggy but RC2 may be necessaryFirefox 3 very stableFirefox 3 is extremely stable. The only problem I have had is viewing Yahoo mail. For some strange reason Yahoo mail likes to resiize to a smaller font and window size. I am constantly having...
- Discussion threads 2008-05-27
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- Keep Up With The Latest In Document Management with The DocuMentor.
-
Doc delivers the scoop on today's enterprise content management, printer maintenance, and all other issues related to document management. It's the DocuMentor Blog.
- Learn more >>
- Save time with automated shipping solutions
-
The Business Essentials Guide provides you useful tools and templates to help grow your business and save you time with automated shipping solutions.
- Visit the UPS Business Essentials Guide
- New Online Dashboard for IT Leaders
-
Read about top issues IT decision-makers face every day, plus get cost-effective solutions to real-life IT problems.
- Learn more >>
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online - Free Six-Month Trial for Eligible Organizations
-
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online provides fast online access, simple contact management and better sales performance for a low monthly cost - the best value on the market today.
- Learn more about the free, six-month trial offer>>
SmartPlanet
- Thought-provoking progressive ideas on diverse topics that intersect with technology, business, and life, and matter to the world at large. Visit SmartPlanet
- More from IBM
-
- How to Drive Better Business Outcomes with Exceptional Web Experiences Download the eBook
- Driving Business Agility through SOA Connectivity & Integration Read the White Paper from IBM
- Linking Decisions and Information for Organizational Performance Read the Tom Davenport study
