Drum memory was a magnetic data storage device invented by Gustav Tauschek in 1932 in Austria.[1] It was widely used in the 1950s and into the 1960s as computer memory.
For many early computers, drum memory formed the main working memory of the computer. It was so common that these computers were often referred to as drum machines.[2] Some drum memories were also used as secondary storage.[3]
Drums were displaced as primary computer memory by magnetic core memory which was faster (no moving parts), less expensive and more dense.[citation needed] Similarly, drums were replaced by hard disk drives for secondary storage, which were also less expensive and more dense. The manufacture of drums ceased in the 1970s.