interleave
)To arrange data in a noncontiguous way to increase performance. When used to describe disk drives, it refers to the way sectors on a disk are organized. In one-to-one interleaving, the sectors are placed sequentially around each track. In two-to-one interleaving, sectors are staggered so that consecutively numbered sectors are separated by an intervening sector.
The purpose of interleaving is to make the disk drive more efficient. The disk drive can access only one sector at a time, and the disk is constantly spinning beneath the read/write head. This means that by the time the drive is ready to access the next sector, the disk may have already spun beyond it. If a data file spans more than one sector and if the sectors are arranged sequentially, the drive will need to wait a full rotation to access the next chunk of the file. If instead the sectors are staggered, the disk will be perfectly positioned to access sequential sectors.
The optimum interleaving factor depends on the speed of the disk drive, the operating system, and the application. The only way to find the best interleaving factor is to experiment with various factors and various applications.
Memory can also be interleaved. See interleaved memory for more information.
Read Also:
- internal bus
Another name for an internal data bus. Also, an expansion bus is often referred to as an internal bus.
- internal command
In DOS systems, an internal command is any command that resides in the COMMAND.COM file. This includes the most common DOS commands, such as COPY and DIR. Commands that reside in other COM files, or in EXE or BAT files, are called external commands.
- internal data bus
A bus that operates only within the internal circuitry of the CPU, communicating among the internal caches of memory that are part of the CPU chip��s design. This bus is typically rather quick and is independent of the rest of the computer��s operations. Contrast with external data bus. The bit width of internal and external […]
- internal modem
)A modem that resides on an expansion board that plugs into a computer. In contrast, an external modem is a box that attaches to a computer’s COM port via cables.
- internationalization
The principles and practices used in the designing and modification of a product to ensure it performs as expect when adapted for use in different languages and locales (internationalized). Internationalization is often abbreviated as I18N.