GuidesLearn Windows XP Professional: Administration of Resources (Page 4) Page 4

Learn Windows XP Professional: Administration of Resources (Page 4) Page 4

ServerWatch content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.






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.

Get the Free Newsletter!

Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

Latest Posts

Related Stories