Disk-cache: reserved area in RAM to speed-up disk access

A disk cache is a cache memory that is used to speed up the process of storing and accessing data from the host hard disk. It enables faster processing of reading/writing, commands and other input and output process between the hard disk, the memory and computing components.

The memory can be part of the disk drive itself (sometimes called a hard disk cache or buffer) or it can be general-purpose RAM in the computer that is reserved for use by the disk drive (sometimes called a soft disk cache). Hard disk cachesare more effective, but they are also much more expensive, and therefore smaller. Nearly all modern disk drives include a small amount of internal cache.