Son Windows 11 Insider versionstarted to offer support for ReFS, referred to as the Resilient File System. The end of NTFS?
The ReFS file system is currently only available on Windows Server operating systems, but not on client systems, ie systems used by the end user. On the other hand, Microsoft according to Designed to “maximize data availability, efficiently scale large datasets across a variety of workloads, and provide data integrity with resistance to corruption,” the ReFS file system may soon replace NTFS.
ReFS vs NTFS
New Technology File System well New Technology File System NTFS, known as NTFS, is not so new anymore. NTFS, the default file system in client versions of Microsoft’s Windows operating system, was introduced with Windows NT 3.1, which means it will be 30 years old in July 2023.
ReFS and NTFS support a wide variety of features, but there are also major differences between the two file systems.
For example, Resilient File System supports file and volume sizes up to 35 petabytes. NTFS supports a maximum of 256 terabytes. Let’s say that one petabyte is equal to 1024 terabytes. While most home systems are far from reaching these file and volume sizes, it is clear that the 256 terabyte limit will eventually be reached.
ReFS specific features (compared to NTFS):
- Block clone: It aims to turn expensive physical file copy operations into fast logical operations. It reduces workloads, reduces I/O and improves the performance of operations.
- Sparse VDL: Allows ReFS to quickly reset files, significantly reducing the creation time of fixed VHDs.
- Mirror-accelerated parity (in Storage Spaces Direct): Designed to provide high performance and capacity-efficient storage. ReFS separates volumes, which can be their own drives, into performance and capacity tiers. Writes occur in the performance layer and data is moved to the capacity layer in real time.
- File-level snapshots: Creates a new file containing the data and attributes of a source file.
ReFS lacks support for a few key features that NTFS supports. Major missing features include support for file system compression and encryption, disk quotas, and removable media support or boot.
ReFS Support in Windows 11
ReFS support adds a new option to the Windows 11 operating system. The file system is likely to be supported only on Enterprise, Education, and Workstation editions of Windows 11. On the other hand, the Twitter user who revealed the support information is using the Pro version of Windows 11.
Another thing to consider is that direct NTFS to ReFS conversion is not yet possible; this indicates that ReFS can only be selected during the initial installation of the operating system, but not while it is running.
Windows 11 users, ViVeTool and can enable ReFS on Windows 11 Insider builds using ID 42189933. We recommend creating a full system backup before attempting to install Windows 11 on ReFS.
Yes, Microsoft may be preparing to say goodbye to NTFS with this development. So if you were given such an option, would you switch from NTFS to ReFS? We welcome your comments below.
