Default NTFS File System Cluster Sizes
Partition Size | NTFS |
7 MB-16 MB | 512 bytes |
17 MB-32 MB | 512 bytes |
33 MB-64 MB | 512 bytes |
65 MB-128 MB | 512 bytes |
129 MB-256 MB | 512 bytes |
257 MB-512 MB | 512 bytes |
513 MB-1,024 MB | 1,024 bytes |
1,025 MB-2 GB | 2,048 bytes |
2 GB-4 GB | 4,096 bytes |
4 GB-8 GB | 4,096 bytes |
8 GB-16 GB | 4,096 bytes |
16 GB-32 GB | 4,096 bytes |
32 GB-2 terabytes | 4,096 bytes |
In summary,
the advantages of NTFS 5 are as follows:
- NTFS
uses standard transaction logging and recovery techniques.
By using the log file and checkpoint information to
automatically restore the consistency of the file system
in the event of a failure, NTFS, for the most part,
maintains the consistency of the data on the volume and
the volume itself. - NTFS
supports compression on volumes, folders, and files. Files
that are compressed on an NTFS volume can be read and
written by any Windows-based application without first
being decompressed by another program. Decompression
happens automatically (think of a ZIP utility on-the-fly)
during the file read. The file is compressed again when it
is closed or saved. - NTFS
does not restrict the number of entries to 512 in the root
folder. - Windows
2000 and Windows XP can format partitions up to 2
terabytes using NTFS. - NTFS
manages disk space efficiently by using smaller clusters
(see the cluster table). - The boot
sector is backed up to a sector at the end of the volume.
- You can
set permissions on shares, folders, and files that specify
which groups and users have access, and what level of
access is permitted on NTFS partitions. - NTFS
supports a native encryption system, (EFS), to prevent
unauthorized access to file contents. - Reparse
points enable new features such as volume mount points.
- Disk
quotas can be set to limit the amount of usage allowed by
end users. - NTFS
uses a change journal to track changes made to files.
- NTFS
supports distributed link tracking to maintain the
integrity of shortcuts and OLE links. - NTFS
supports sparse files so that very large files can be
written to disk while requiring only a small amount of
storage space.
There are
also a few notable disadvantages to NTFS, as outlined below.
- NTFS
volumes are not locally accessible from MS-DOS, Windows
95, Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition operating
systems. - Many
advanced features of NTFS included with version 5 are not
available in Windows NT. - On small
partitions with mostly small files, the overhead of
managing the NTFS file system can cause a slight performance drop in
comparison to FAT. - Floppy
disks cannot be formatted as NTFS
[NOTES
FROM THE FIELD] –
There is no test requirement to memorize the NTFS tables
either, but again, it’s good to understand the “how and why”
of it. Also, it is never a “best practice” to dual boot any
workstation or server that has sensitive data on it with any
file system installed that cannot secure those files or any
operating system that threatens that security. This would
include even NTFS if older versions and newer versions of
NTFS are running and one “degrades” the security strength of
the other.
For
more detailed answers to questions about the NTFS File
System, you can look up the information in the Microsoft
Windows XP Professional Resource Kit Documentation, which
can also be found
online.
NTFS
stands for
New
Technology File System.
The
maximum single file size on a NTFS partition is 16 EB
(exabytes), in theory.