Which storage device is primarily accessed in a sequential manner?

The correct answer is primarily accessed in a sequential manner because magnetic tape storage is designed to read and write data in a linear fashion. This means that to access a specific piece of information, the tape must be wound to the correct position, which can result in slower access times compared to other types of storage devices.

Magnetic tape is often used for archival storage and backup purposes due to its cost-effectiveness and large capacity. It is particularly well-suited for applications where data retrieval is done in bulk and in the order it was written, such as in data backups and large-scale data storage.

On the other hand, SSDs, hard disk drives, and optical disks are designed for direct access, which allows for quicker retrieval of data stored in various locations on the disk. This characteristic makes them more suitable for applications that require fast read and write speeds, such as running operating systems and applications, where random access is needed.