Windows 10 file system. Comparison of ReFS (Resilient file system) and NTFS file systems. Flash memory as the engine of progress

Meet the new one file system ReFS (Resilient File System - fault-tolerant file system).

In principle, it is not so new; Microsoft did not develop ReFS from scratch, previously known under the code name Protogon, which was developed for Windows Server 8 will now be installed on client Windows machines 8.

So, to open, close, read and write files, the system uses the same API access interfaces as NTFS.
Many well-known features remained untouched - for example, Bitlocker disk encryption and symbolic links for libraries.
Other features, such as data compression, have disappeared.

The previous NTFS (New Technology File System) file system in version 1.2 was introduced back in 1993 as part of Windows NT 3.1, and to the emergence of Windows XP in 2001 NTFS reached version 3.1, and only then they began to install it on client machines.
Gradually, the capabilities of NTFS have reached their limits: scanning large-capacity storage media takes too much time.
The log (registration file) slows down access, and the maximum file size has almost been reached.

Most of ReFS's innovations lie in the area of ​​creating and managing file and folder structures.
They are designed for automatic correction errors, maximum scaling and operation in Always Online mode.
For these purposes, Microsoft uses the concept of B+ trees, familiar from databases.
This means that folders in a file system are structured as tables with files as entries.

These, in turn, can have certain attributes added as subtables, creating a hierarchical tree structure.
Even free disk space is organized in tables.
The core of the ReFS system is the object table - a central directory that lists all the tables in the system.

ReFS has gotten rid of complex log management and now captures new file information in free space, which prevents it from being overwritten.
But even if this suddenly happens, the system will re-register links to records in the B+-tree structure.

Like NTFS, ReFS fundamentally distinguishes between file information (metadata) and file content (user data), but generously provides both with the same security features.
Thus, metadata is protected by default using checksums.
The same protection can be provided to user data if desired.
These checksums are located on disk at safe removal from each other so that if an error occurs, the data can be restored.

Transferring data from NTFS to ReFS

Will it be possible to easily and easily convert data from NTFS to ReFS and vice versa in Windows 8?
Microsoft says there won't be any built-in format conversion functionality, but information can still be copied.
The scope of ReFS is obvious: at first it can only be used as a large data manager for the server.
Therefore, it is not yet possible to run Windows 8 from a disk running the new file system.
There will be no external drives with ReFS yet - only internal ones.

Obviously, over time ReFS will be equipped big amount functions and will be able to replace the outdated system.
Perhaps this will happen with the release of the first update package for Windows 8.

Comparing NTFS and ReFS file systems.

Rename file

NTFS

1. NTFS writes to the Log that the file name should be changed.
NTFS also records all actions there.
2. Only after this does it change the file name on the spot.
Thus, the old name is overwritten by the new one.
3. Finally, a mark indicating the successful completion of the specified operation appears in the Log (file system registration file).

ReFS

1 - The new name is written to the free space.
It is very important that the previous name is not erased at first.
2 - As soon as the new name is written, ReFS changes the reference to the name field.
Now in the file system it leads not to the old name, but to the new one.

Renaming a file during a power failure

ReFS

1. NTFS, as usual, writes the change request to the Log.
2. After this, due to a power failure, the renaming process is interrupted, and there is no record of either the old or new names.
3. Windows reboots.
4. Following this, the error correction program - Chkdisk - is launched.
5. Only now, using the Journal, when applying a rollback, the original file name is restored.

NTFS

1. In the first stage, ReFS writes a new name to another location in the file system, but at this moment the power supply is cut off.
2. Failure causes Windows to automatically restart.
3. After it, the Chkdisk program starts. It analyzes the file system for errors and corrects them if necessary.
Meanwhile, the ReFS dataset is in a stable state. The previous file name becomes valid again immediately after a power failure.

Key goals of ReFS:

Maintain maximum compatibility with a set of widely used NTFS features, and at the same time get rid of unnecessary ones that only complicate the system;
. Verification and auto-correction of data;
. Maximum scalability;
. The impossibility of completely disabling the file system due to the isolation of faulty areas;
. Flexible architecture using the Storage Spaces feature, which is designed and implemented specifically for ReFS.

Key ReFS features (some only available with Storage Spaces):

Metadata integrity with checksums;
. Integrity streams: a method of writing data to disk for additional data protection if part of the disk is damaged;
. Transactional model “allocate on write” (copy on write);
. Large limits on the size of partitions, files and directories.
Partition size is limited to 278 bytes with a cluster size of 16 KB (2 64 16 2 10), Windows stack supports 2 64 .
Maximum number of files in a directory: 2 64 .
Maximum number of directories in a section: 2 64 ;
. Pooling and virtualization for more easy creation partitions and file system management;
. Serial data segmentation (data ripping) for improved performance, redundant writes for fault tolerance;
. Support for background disk cleaning techniques (disk scrubbing) to identify hidden errors;
. Rescue data around a damaged area on the disk;
. Shared storage pools between machines for additional fault tolerance and load balancing.

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NTFS And FAT32 are not the only file systems that Windows 10 can see and read. It also supports legacy FAT, expanded exFAT, new ReFS, virtual CDFS, and also partially with those used in Linux EXT2 And EXT3. When working with disks, including removable ones, you may need to determine the current file system of the media or logical partition. In Windows 10 you can do this in different ways.

Simplest- this is to open the disk properties and see what is specified in the parameter.

However, this method is only suitable for those drives that have a letter and explicitly "native" file system, if the media or partition is formatted in EXT3 or due to a failure it will be determined as RAW, it will not be available in Explorer. In this case, you should use a snap-in to determine the file system or console utility.

Press Win + X to open the Start button menu, launch the snap-in and look at the contents of the column.

The snap-in will display even those disks and partitions that do not have a letter. Another way to look FS carrier is to use the utility. Open a command line and run these two commands:

list volume

The first command launches the utility, the second displays a list of all logical partitions. You will find the information you need in the column FS. Alternative - console. To find out the file system type for all disks, run it as an administrator and run the command get-volume. The searched values ​​will be listed in the column FileSystemType.

Alas, all the methods described above have a common drawback, namely incorrect recognition of Linux file systems CDFS And EXT2/3/4 .

So, in our example determined CDFS How Unknown and the Disk Management snap-in identified CDFS correct, but could not recognize EXT3, defining it as RAW, that is, like the absence of a file system. Standard tools began to show correct results only after installation - utilities and drivers to provide access to media EXT2/3/4 from under Windows.

And since we're talking about EXT2/3/4, at the same time it is also worth mentioning file systems HFS or HFS+, used in poppies. When connected to a Windows computer, they will also not be detected and in order to be able to work with them, you need to install a driver Paragon HFS+ or MacDrive.

The cumulative Creators Update, which introduced many new features to Windows 10, including the implementation of official support for the modern REFS file system - the successor to NTFS, currently used in operating systems from Microsoft. This fact did not cause much fuss, since REFS is far from a new development of the software giant. It could have been used before Windows environment 10, but only for created by means storage space systems ( software RAID). This feature was not provided for regular disk partitions, but it could be implemented in both Windows 10 and Windows 8.1 (64-bit editions) by manually editing the system registry or making changes using REG files posted on forums for computer geeks .

Modern REFS file system: features and surprises

What kind of file system is this, how does it differ from NTFS, what are its real benefits for ordinary users, and what surprises should you be prepared for when working with it - more on all this below.

Features of REFS

REFS is an abbreviation for Resilient File System, which in Russian means fault-tolerant file system. This, as mentioned above, is the successor to NTFS, but for now in the distant, poorly foreseeable future. The new file system was introduced to the world by Microsoft back in 2012. All these years it has been “tested” on server editions of Windows, starting with version Server 2012. 6 years of testing have led only to the modest fate of being an alternative for non-system disk partitions in latest version client operating system. However, if you look at the history of NTFS implementation, it turns out that in the case of REFS everything goes on as usual. After all, NTFS is on Windows client Microsoft has been implementing for 7 long years.

The new file system is not just a successor to NTFS, it is based on the latter, but eliminates its shortcomings and opens up new possibilities. Key Feature REFS – fault tolerance, protection against data loss, which is ensured by a number of mechanisms to support their integrity. Microsoft is so confident in its work that for disk partitions formatted in REFS, it even removed from their properties the ability to run a check for file system errors.

The new file system inherited from NTFS:

• Access control lists ACLs;
• USN Magazine;
• Symbolic links;
• Mounting, connecting and reprocessing points;
• BitLocker encryption technology.

REFS has eliminated unused NTFS features:

• EFS file-level encryption;
• DOS-compatible short filenames 8.3;
• Hard links;
• Disk quotas.

Features of REFS that NTFS does not include:

• Preventing data loss – minimizing the occurrence of file system errors, isolating damaged sectors, preventive measures to avoid data corruption;
• As the developers assure, increased performance;
• Promptly checking disks for errors;
• Other features are listed below in the comparison table with NTFS.

Real benefits for ordinary users

Which of the benefits described above are good for ordinary users? To whom the ultimate capabilities of NTFS seem astronomical due to the lack of opportunity to implement them.

Alas, the bottom line is that we will only get the opportunity to no longer languish in anticipation, watching on the preload screen the flickering numbers of the progress of checking the file system for errors, if Windows work will end incorrectly. Well, and even less chance of losing valuable data. Less, but not 100%. A fault-tolerant file system is very good, but it naturally only solves its own problems. Whatever file system is used, user data is still threatened by the theoretical probability of hard drive failure, which is the task of the users themselves to prevent. Of course, REFS can solve this problem for users, but only within the framework of using Storage Spaces technology and creating a storage pool similar to mirrored RAID 1 (at a minimum).

In this case, the “reliable file system + reliable storage” combination will undoubtedly provide the greatest guarantees. Just what is so valuable that should be stored on the average person’s disk so that he would bother and invest financially in RAID, regardless of the technology for its implementation?

What about the claimed performance improvements for REFS? This applies to a greater extent to the use of the same disk space technology. The new file system initially provides for writing data to a faster HDD. And while the computer is idle large files will be moved to a slower hard drive.

What can ordinary users expect if they have a single HDD installed on their computer? Alas, no matter what. When testing REFS and comparing it with NTFS on a regular HDD partition, no performance improvements were noted. Under the same testing conditions - with the same test file size, with the same number of read and write cycles, on the same disk partition - the Crystal Disk Mark program recorded approximately the same performance. The random reading and writing of small files that are significant for performance in REFS exceeded the speeds of NTFS by a meager amount.

This means that the new file system is not optimized in any way to reduce the number of movements of HDD heads. And, accordingly, it will not solve the problem of hard drives, which have long been asking to remain in the past of computer technology.

Benefits for those working with hypervisors

But in terms of performance, there is also good news, although not quite for ordinary users, rather for advanced users working with a hypervisor from Microsoft Hyper-V. If virtual machines are placed on a partition formatted in REFS, the processes of cloning and merging with checkpoints will be many times faster. Because for a new file system it is enough to write new metadata and refer to the data written on disk, but not to physically copy it.

REFS can also quickly write zeros to a large file, which means that when creating virtual disks with a fixed size you will need to wait a few seconds, not minutes, as happens with NTFS. And this is a significant breakthrough. NTFS not only takes a long time to create fixed virtual disks, it also loads the HDD, making it impossible to work in parallel with other programs. When testing creating a 60GB fixed-size VHD file on a REFS partition, the process took 1 second. Whereas on a partition with NTFS, creating exactly the same VHD file took almost 7 minutes with the disk load at 99%.

It is expected that these capabilities will be implemented when working with virtual machines VMware and VirtualBox.

Disadvantages of REFS

We've sorted out the advantages of REFS, but what about the disadvantages? They exist, but if Microsoft decides to actively implement the new file system, some of the shortcomings will be eliminated over time. For now, we have what we have - REFS:

• Can only be used for non-system disk partitions, and cannot be used for a Windows partition;
• Can only be used for internal media, but not for external media;
• You cannot convert an NTFS partition into it without losing data, you can only format it, which necessitates the need to temporarily transfer data somewhere;
• Not everyone works with it third party programs, in particular, this applies to resuscitators of deleted data.

Well, the main surprise: friends, do you recognize the version of Windows?

This is how you store data in new file systems. Not like Windows 7, even Windows 8.1 does not see the partition with REFS. In the case of Windows 8.1, an attempt was made to give the new file system a chance to be recognized, and in system registry an edit was made to provide support for REFS. But only the ability to format new partitions in Windows 8.1 was implemented.

In this article we'll figure it out what features does ReFS provide and why is it better than the NTFS file system?. How to recover data from ReFS disk space. Microsoft's new ReFS file system was originally introduced in Windows Server 2012. It is also included in Windows 10 as part of the Disk Space tool. ReFS can be used for a disk pool. WITH Windows release Server 2016 file system has been improved and will soon be available in new version Windows 10

What features does ReFS provide and how is it better than the current NTFS system?

What does ReFS mean?

Abbreviation for "Resilient File System", ReFS is a new system based on NTFS. At this stage, ReFS does not offer a comprehensive replacement for NTFS for home users' disk use. The file system has its advantages and disadvantages.

ReFS is intended to solve the main problems of NTFS. It is more resilient to data corruption, handles higher workloads better, and easily scales to very large file systems. Let's look at what this means?

ReFS protects data from corruption

The file system uses checksums for metadata and may also use checksums for file data. While reading or writing a file, the system checks checksum to make sure it is correct. This enables detection of corrupted data in real time.

ReFS is integrated with the Disk Space feature. If you have configured a mirrored data store, ReFS will allow Windows to detect and automatically repair file system corruption by copying data from another drive. This feature is available in both Windows 10 and Windows 8.1.

If the file system detects damaged data that does not have an alternative copy for recovery, then ReFS will immediately delete such data from the disk. This will not require rebooting the system or unplugging the storage device, as is the case with NTFS.

The need to use the chkdsk utility completely disappears, since the file system is automatically corrected immediately when an error occurs. New system It is also resistant to other types of data corruption. NTFS, when writing file metadata, writes it directly. If there is a power outage or computer crash during this time, you will experience data corruption.

When changing metadata, ReFS creates new copy data and associates the data with the file only after the metadata is written to disk. This eliminates the possibility of data corruption. This feature is called copy-to-write and is also present in other popular operating systems. Linux systems: ZFS, BtrFS, and also file Apple system APFS.

ReFS removes some NTFS restrictions

ReFS is more modern and supports much larger volumes and longer file names than NTFS. In the long term, these are important improvements. In the NTFS file system, a file name is limited to 255 characters; in ReFS, a file name can contain up to 32768 characters. Windows 10 allows you to disable the character limit limit for NTFS file systems, but it is always disabled on ReFS volumes.

ReFS no longer supports short filenames in DOS 8.3 format. On an NTFS volume you can access C:\Program Files\ V C:\PROGRA~1\ to ensure compatibility with old software.

NTFS has a theoretical maximum capacity of 16 exabytes, while ReFS has a theoretical maximum capacity of 262,144 exabytes. Although it doesn't really matter now, computers are constantly evolving.

Which file system is faster ReFS or NTFS?

ReFS was not designed to improve file system performance over NTFS. Microsoft has made ReFS much more efficient in certain cases.

For example, when used with Disk Space, ReFS supports "real-time optimization". Let's say you have a storage pool with two disks, one provides maximum performance, the other is used for volume. ReFS will always write data to the faster disk, ensuring maximum performance. In the background, the file system will automatically move large chunks of data to slower drives for long-term storage.

In Windows Server 2016, Microsoft has improved ReFS to provide better performance virtual machine functions. The Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machine takes advantage of these benefits (in theory, any virtual machine can take advantage of ReFS).

For example, ReFS supports block cloning, this speeds up the cloning process virtual machines and checkpoint merging operations. To create a copy of a virtual machine, ReFS only needs to write the new metadata to disk and provide a link to the existing data. This is because in ReFS, multiple files can point to the same underlying data on disk.

When a virtual machine writes new data to disk, it is written to a different location, but the original virtual machine data remains on disk. This greatly speeds up the cloning process and requires much less bandwidth disk.

ReFS also offers new feature "rare VDL", which allows ReFS to quickly write zeros to a large file. This greatly speeds up the creation of a new, empty virtual file. hard drive fixed size (VHD). In NTFS this operation can take 10 minutes, in ReFS – a few seconds.

Why ReFS can't replace NTFS

Despite a number of advantages, ReFS cannot yet replace NTFS. Windows cannot boot from a ReFS partition and requires NTFS. ReFS does not support NTFS features such as data compression, file system encryption, hard links, extended attributes, data deduplication, and disk quotas. But unlike NTFS, ReFS allows you to perform full disk encryption using BitLocker, including the disk system structures.

Windows 10 does not allow you to format a partition in ReFS; this file system is only available within Disk Space. ReFS protects data used across multiple pools hard drives from damage. In Windows Server 2016, you can format volumes using ReFS instead of NTFS. Such a volume can be used to store virtual machines, but the operating system can still only boot from NTFS.

Hetman Partition Recovery allows you to analyze disk space managed by the ReFS file system using a signature analysis algorithm. Analyzing the device sector by sector, the program finds certain byte sequences and displays them to the user. Restoring data from ReFS disk space is no different from working with the NTFS file system:

1. Download and install the program;
2. Analyze the physical disk that is included in the disk space;
3. Select and save the files that need to be restored;
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for all disks included in the disk space.

The future of the new file system is rather unclear. Microsoft may improve ReFS to replace outdated NTFS in all Windows versions. On this moment ReFS cannot be used everywhere and only serves certain tasks.

Microsoft's new ReFS file system initially appeared on servers running Windows control 2012. And only later it was included in Windows 10, where it can only be used as part of the Storage Spaces feature (disk space virtualization technology) of a disk pool. In Windows Server 2016, Microsoft promises to significantly improve work with the ReFS file system, and, according to rumors in print, ReFS may replace the outdated NTFS file system in the new version of Windows 10, which proudly bears Windows name 10 Pro (for advanced PCs).

But what exactly is ReFs, how does it differ from the currently used NTFS file system, and what advantages does it have?

What is ReFS

In short, it was designed as a fault-tolerant file system. ReFS is a new code-based file system that is essentially a redesign and improvement of the NTFS file system. These include improved reliability of information storage, stable work in stress modes, the size of files, volumes, directories, the number of files in volumes and directories is limited only by the size of the characters of a 64-bit number. Let us recall that with this value, the maximum file size will be 16 exbibytes, and the volume size will be 1 yobibyte.

On this moment ReFS is not a replacement for NTFS. It has its advantages and disadvantages. But you won't be able to, say, format a disk and install a new one on it. copy of Windows so how would you do it on NTFS.

ReFS protects your data

ReFS uses checksums for metadata and can also use checksums for data files. Every time you read or write files, ReFS checks the checksum to ensure it is correct. This means that the file system itself has a tool capable of detecting corrupted data on the fly.

ReFS is integrated with the Storage Spaces feature. If you have configured mirroring with ReFS support, Windows will easily detect file system corruption and automatically repair it by copying the mirrored data to the damaged disk. This function Available for both Windows 10 and Windows 8.1.

If ReFS detects corrupted data and there is no required copy of the data to restore, the file system is able to immediately remove the corrupted data from the disk. This does not require a system reboot, unlike NTFS.

ReFS not only checks the integrity of files during writing and reading. It automatically scans data integrity by regularly checking all files on the disk, identifying and correcting corrupted data. In this case, there is no need to periodically run chkdsk command to check the disk.

The new file system is also resistant to data corruption in other ways. For example, you update the metadata of a file (let's say the file name). The NTFS file system directly changes the file's metadata. If at this time the system crashes (power outage), there is a high probability that the file will be damaged. When you change metadata, the ReFS file system creates a new copy of the metadata. The file system does not overwrite the old metadata, but writes it into a new block. This eliminates the possibility of file damage. This strategy is called “copy-on-write” (copy-on-write, highlight-on-write). This strategy is available in other modern file systems such as ZFS and BtrFS on Linux, as well as Apple's new APFS file system.

Limitations of the NTFS file system

ReFS is more modern than NTFS and supports much larger data volumes and longer file names. In the long run this is very important.

In the NTFS file system, the file path is limited to 255 characters. In ReFS maximum amount characters is already an impressive 32,768 characters. There is currently an option in Windows 10 to disable the character element for NTFS. On ReFS disk volumes this limit is disabled by default.

ReFS does not support DOS 8.3 filenames. On NTFS volumes, you have access to the “CProgram Files” and “CProgra`1” folders. They are needed for compatibility with older software. In ReFS you will not find the folders we are used to. They have been deleted.

The theoretical maximum data volume supported by NTFS is 16 exabytes, ReFS supports up to 262,144 exabytes. Now this figure seems simply huge.

ReFS performance

The developers did not set a goal to create a more productive file system. They made a more optimized system.

For example, when used with an array, ReFS supports real-time level optimization. You have a storage pool consisting of two disks. The first disk was selected with the expectation of high speed work, fast access to the data. The second disk is selected with reliability criteria, under long-term storage data. In the background, ReFS will automatically move large chunks of data to a slower disk, ensuring that the data is stored securely.

In Windows Server 2016, developers have added a tool that provides improved performance using certain functions virtual machines. For example, ReFS supports block copying, which speeds up the process of virtual machine copying and checkpoint merging operations. To create a copy of a virtual machine, ReFS creates a new copy of the metadata on disk and provides a link to the copied data on disk. This is so that with ReFS multiple files can reference the same underlying data on disk. After you change the data after working with the virtual machine, it is written to disk in another location, but the original data of the virtual machine remains on the disk. This significantly speeds up the process of creating copies and reduces the load on the disk.

ReFS supports “Sparse VDL” (discharged files). A sparse file is a file in which a sequence of zero bytes has been replaced with information about that sequence (a list of holes). Holes are a specific sequence of zero bytes inside a file that were not written to disk. The information about holes itself is stored in the file system metadata.

Discharged file support technology allows you to quickly write zeros to a large file. This greatly speeds up the process of creating a new, empty, fixed-size virtual hard disk (VHD) file. Creating such a file in ReFS takes a few seconds, while in NTFS such an operation takes up to 10 minutes.

Still, ReFS is not able to completely replace NTFS

Everything we described above sounds good, but you won't be able to switch to ReFS from NTFS. Windows cannot boot from the ReFS file system, requiring NTFS.

ReFS lacks many technologies available in NTFS. For example, file system compression and encryption, hard links, extended attributes, data deduplication, and disk quotas. Moreover, unlike NTFS, ReFS supports full data encryption technology - BitLocker.

In Windows 10, you will not be able to format a disk partition with ReFS. The new file system is only available for storage systems where its main function is to protect data from damage. In Windows Server 2016, you will be able to format a disk partition with ReFS. You will be able to use it to run virtual machines. But you won't be able to select it as a boot disk. Windows boots only from the NTFS file system.

It's unclear what Microsoft's future holds for the new file system. Perhaps one day it will completely replace NTFS in all versions of Windows. But for now, ReFS can only be used for certain tasks.

Application of ReFS

Much has been said above in support of the new operating system. The disadvantages and advantages are described. I suggest you stop and summarize. For what purposes can, and maybe should, be used ReFS.

In Windows 10, ReFS is only applicable in conjunction with the Storage Spaces component. Be sure to format your disk dedicated to data storage in ReFS, not NTFS. In this case, you will be able to fully appreciate the reliability of data storage.

On Windows Server, you can format a partition for ReFS using standard tool Windows in the Disk Management Console. It is recommended to format it for ReFS if you use virtual servers. But remember that boot disk must be formatted as NTFS. Booting from ReFS file system is not supported operating systems Windows.

New ReFS file system and Windows 10| 2017-06-28 06:34:15 | Super User | System software | https://site/media/system/images/new.png | The new file system from Microsoft ReFS has replaced the outdated NTFS. What are the advantages of ReFS and how does it differ from NTFS | refs, refs or ntfs, refs windows 10, refs file system, new file systems, ntfs system, ntfs file system