Definition

1. Noun:
   • (Computer Science) The time delay for a specific sector on a rotating storage disk to spin to the position of the read/write head. This is a component of disk access time, measured from when the head arrives at the correct track until the desired data rotates under it.

Usage

• Noun:
  • Reducing rotational latency is a key goal in hard disk drive design.
  • The average rotational latency for a disk spinning at 7200 RPM is approximately 4.17 milliseconds.
  • Access time is the sum of seek time and rotational latency.

Advanced Usage

• "to minimize rotational latency": To design systems or algorithms to reduce this waiting time.
  • Disk scheduling algorithms like elevator algorithms help to minimize rotational latency.
• "rotational latency overhead": The performance cost attributed to this delay.
  • The rotational latency overhead can be significant for random I/O operations.

Variants and Related Words

• Latency (n): Delay before a transfer of data begins following an instruction.
• Rotational Delay (n): A synonym for rotational latency.
• Seek Time (n): The time for the disk arm to move to the correct track. Combined with rotational latency, it forms access time.

Synonyms

• Rotational Delay: The most direct synonym.
• Latency: A broader term that can include this specific type of delay in context.

Related Phrases

• Access Time: The total time to locate and read/write data on a storage device (seek time + rotational latency + transfer time).
• Disk I/O Performance: A general term for disk speed, heavily influenced by rotational latency.

Noun

1. (computer science) the time it takes for a specific block of data on a data track to rotate around to the read/write head