How does sampling rate affect data storage in telemetry systems?

• A. Lower sampling rate reduces data quality but saves storage.
• B. Higher sampling rate generates more data, increasing storage needs.
• C. Sampling rate does not affect storage needs.
• D. Storage needs depend only on data retention period, not sampling rate.

Answer: (B)

Sampling rate is the number of measurements taken each second. Each sample becomes a data point that has to be stored. So, when you increase the sampling rate, you generate more data per second, and when you look over a fixed time period, the total storage required grows roughly in direct proportion to that rate. This is why higher sampling rates lead to higher storage needs, especially if you keep the same data format and number of channels.

The other statements don’t fit as a complete picture: lowering the rate does reduce the amount of data stored, but the key point is the storage impact of more samples, and assuming a given retention period, storage scales with sampling rate. It’s not true that storage needs are unaffected by sampling rate, nor that they depend only on retention time.