File Systems in Windows

Windows Server (Windows for short) offers a variety of file systems. For a comparison, see Table 2-1.

• FAT

  File Application Table (FAT) is a file system developed for MS-DOS. This file system is simple in design and applicable to all Windows operating systems of later versions. However, a major drawback of FAT is that after a file is deleted, new data is written onto the file location in chunks, which lowers data read/write speeds.

• FAT32

  FAT32 is similar to FAT but applies to larger disk applications. FAT supports only 4 GB partitions or volumes whereas FAT32 supports up to 2 TB.

• NTFS

  New Technology File System (NTFS) is a standard file system that applies to Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. NTFS takes the place of FAT as the file system for Microsoft Windows operating systems. NTFS optimizes FAT and High Performance File System (HPFS). For example, NTFS supports metadata and uses advanced data structure, which improves performance, reliability, and disk space utilization. NTFS also provides extended functions such as the access control list (ACL) and file system logs.

• exFAT

  Extended File Allocation Table File System (exFAT) is a Microsoft file system optimized for flash drives (NFTS cannot be used to manage flash drives). exFAT applies to Windows Embedded 5.0 and later (including Windows CE 5.0, Windows CE 6.0, Windows Mobile 5, Windows Mobile 6, and Windows Mobile 6.1). This file system supports 4 GB or larger files that are not supported by FAT32.

• ReFS

  Resilient File System (ReFS) is a new file system introduced with Windows Server 2012. ReFS improves system availability and fault tolerance capabilities in the big data era. When interworking with Space Storage, ReFS provides a comprehensive, end-to-end, and flexible storage architecture.