ReFS vs NTFS: Which Is a Better File System?

A File System is a structure used to organize and manage data on computer storage devices. It is responsible for creating, accessing, modifying, and deleting files on hard disks, solid-state drives, flash drives, or other types of storage media. The file system provides a logical view for users and the operating system, enabling them to search, store, and retrieve files by name. Key functions of a file system include: 1. File Naming and Location: Assigning a unique name to each file and determining its position on the storage device. 2. Storage Space Management: Allocating and releasing disk space, tracking which portions are in use and which are free. 3. File Organization: Storing files within a directory or folder structure, allowing for categorization and management. 4. Access Control: Controlling read, write, and execute permissions for different users on files. 5. Integrity Protection: Ensuring data integrity during file writing and reading processes. 6. File Caching: To enhance performance, the file system may cache frequently accessed files. Common file system types include FAT (File Allocation Table), NTFS (New Technology File System), EXT (Extended File System for Linux-based systems), HFS+ (Mac OS file system), and APFS (Apple File System). Different operating systems support various file systems, with some having cross-platform compatibility.

A file system is a structure that an operating system uses to organize data in groups according to logical rules. Think of a hard drive or server as a library, with each file representing a book. The file system is the shelving and the librarian that keep the books in order and make them easy to find.

A file system enables the operating system to manage data and files more efficiently and logically. It allows users to easily read, access, write, modify, and protect data on a device.

NTFS (New Technology File System) is a file system used in Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was introduced starting with Windows NT 3.1, replacing the FAT (File Allocation Table) file system. NTFS offers several advanced features, such as: 1. File permissions and security: NTFS allows for granular access control lists (ACLs) to be set on files and folders, limiting access by different users or user groups. 2. Disk space management: NTFS uses smaller cluster sizes, leading to more efficient use of disk space. 3. Reliability: NTFS supports a journaled file system, enabling recovery of file system integrity after system crashes or improper shutdowns. 4. Large file support: NTFS can handle very large files and extremely large volumes. 5. Compression and encryption: NTFS supports file and folder compression as well as transparent encryption, saving storage space and protecting data security. 6. Fast file indexing: With the Master File Table (MFT), NTFS can quickly locate and access files. 7. Hard links and symbolic links: Allows a file to have multiple names (hard links) or create links pointing to other locations (symbolic links). NTFS is the default file system in modern Windows versions, like Windows 10, due to its improved performance, stability, and security.

NTFS is a file system introduced by Microsoft.

Back in the Windows 98 days, Microsoft used the FAT32 file system with a 32-bit file allocation table. Starting around 2000, disk capacities began to grow significantly. FAT32 greatly increased the ability to manage disks, breaking through the 2 GB partition limit of FAT16.

After Windows 98, Microsoft introduced the New Technology File System (NTFS) with Windows NT in 1993, which it has used in all versions up to and including Windows 8.

NTFS supports metadata and is more efficient in its use of disk space than FAT32. Operating systems formatted with FAT32 support partitions of up to 32 GB, whereas those using NTFS can support disks of up to 2 TB.

While NTFS offered great features, it eventually showed some drawbacks, such as limited compatibility and inability to provide maximum data availability on large datasets across different workloads.

What is ReFS? ReFS (Resilient File System) is a file system developed by Microsoft designed to provide higher data durability and availability while maintaining compatibility with existing Windows operating systems. First introduced in Windows Server 2012, ReFS was aimed at replacing NTFS (New Technology File System), particularly in large-scale data storage and enterprise environments. Key features of ReFS include: 1. **Fault tolerance**: ReFS employs a mechanism called "Mirror-Accelerated Parity," which automatically recovers data in case of hardware failures, enhancing data integrity. 2. **Data integrity**: ReFS uses B-Tree data structures to detect and repair data corruption, helping prevent data corruption. 3. **Smart defragmentation**: ReFS manages disk space more effectively, reducing file fragmentation and improving read/write performance. 4. **Integration with Storage Spaces Direct**: ReFS is tightly integrated with Windows' Storage Spaces feature, allowing for striped or mirrored sets across multiple physical drives for high availability and fault tolerance. 5. **Ongoing improvements**: Over time, Microsoft continues to update and enhance ReFS's capabilities to adapt to evolving storage requirements. Despite its advantages, ReFS is not suitable for all scenarios. It does not support file system permissions, file encryption, or file compression, which are NTFS features. Therefore, when choosing a file system, the decision between ReFS and NTFS should be based on specific application scenarios and requirements.

In an attempt to address the problems with NTFS, Microsoft introduced a new advanced file system in September 2012: the Resilient File System (ReFS), also known as “Protogon.”

ReFS is designed from the NTFS codebase. Microsoft wants it to provide maximum data availability and meet users' growing storage needs. And Windows is getting ReFS support.

Compared to NTFS, ReFS does offer improved resilience, especially in scenarios with older disks or where power failures occur during movie playback, for example. The improvements come from changes under the hood, such as how file metadata is stored and updated. ReFS is designed to work with Storage Spaces striped volumes. When a disk fails, ReFS can perform system-level checksums to detect errors and correctly rebuild files.

And, while Microsoft has put a lot of effort into designing ReFS, and it has some features that NTFS lacks, it is still too immature to be a credible alternative to NTFS.

Comparing ReFS and NTFS: Four Key Areas

While both ReFS and NTFS are file systems introduced by Microsoft, and ReFS incorporates some NTFS code, they still have significant differences. Here, we will analyze the distinctions between ReFS and NTFS across four aspects: reliability, scalability, performance, and features.

Comparing ReFS and NTFS: Reliability

Both NTFS and ReFS have data integrity tools, but ReFS can automatically verify and repair file corruption without using Check Disk (CHKDSK), while NTFS can't.

As a result, ReFS is more flexible and better able to protect data integrity and availability than NTFS.

ReFS versus NTFS: Scalability

With its B+ tree structure, ReFS can store more data per node, resulting in better storage performance than NTFS. While NTFS has a maximum capacity of 16 EB, ReFS can handle an astonishing 262,144 EB. Additionally, ReFS allows for file paths of up to 32,768 characters, compared to NTFS's limit of 255 characters.

ReFS vs. NTFS: A Performance Comparison

ReFS includes a feature called striped parity, which writes data across two tiers of a drive so that the ReFS file system can quickly write data to the mirrored tier and then transfer it to the parity tier, with the calculation performed for each written file. This helps ReFS store data more efficiently and use disk space more effectively.

So ReFS does better than NTFS there.

ReFS vs. NTFS: A Comparison of Features

Because ReFS is built on top of the NTFS code base, it shares many features with NTFS, including:

Of course, they also have different features – and that's what this article is all about. Features unique to ReFS (not available in NTFS) include:

Features available only on NTFS (not available on ReFS):

Which is the better file system?

Given the differences between NTFS and ReFS outlined above, it's clear that these file systems have different use cases. NTFS is designed to handle a variety of configurations and common everyday usage scenarios. Its features make it more versatile and suitable for most situations. In contrast, ReFS, lacking crucial functionality, is destined not to replace NTFS but rather to complement it.

However, ReFS is essentially a more efficient file system for advanced users. With its unique advanced features, ReFS can provide data protection and recovery for PCs that handle large amounts of data with great flexibility.

In short, NTFS is a more feature-rich and general-purpose file system. For users who need to manage data in large-scale environments and want to preserve data integrity in the face of disk failures, ReFS may be more appealing.

Conclusions

In conclusion, there is no clear winner between ReFS and NTFS. Both file systems have their pros and cons and are suited for different user needs. Hopefully, after reading this article, you can make an informed decision for yourself.