NTFS (Next Technology File Structure)

NTFS is the preferred file system on Windows Server 2003 family, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT. It was designed to address the requirements of high-performance file servers and server networks as well as desktop computers, and in doing so, address many of the limitations of the earlier FAT16 and FAT32 file systems. The most important of these requirements are as follows:

Data security. NTFS implements files and directories as securable objects according to the Windows object security architecture. Access to file and directory objects in NTFS can be restricted to specific users and groups under this architecture. Data security features for files and directories are not included in the FAT file systems.

Data recoverability. NTFS limits the possibility of data corruption by organizing I/O operations by transactions. Transactions are atomic, which means that either the entire I/O operation must complete or none of it can complete. If anything interrupts the transaction in-progress, such as loss of power to the computer or a cancellation of the I/O operation, NTFS does everything possible to guarantee that any changes made to the file system as part of the I/O operation are undone, or rolled back, returning the file system to its condition before the I/O operation began.

Also, NTFS is a fully recoverable file system. It is designed to restore consistency to a disk after a CPU failure, system crash, or I/O error. NTFS allows the operating system to recover without your having to use disk-checking utilities. However, NTFS provides some disk utilities in case recovery fails or corruption occurs outside the control of the file system.

Storage fault tolerance. Data-redundant storage methods can be used with NTFS to ensure that if data is corrupted on one physical disk, an intact copy can be retrieved from the disk mirror. NTFS always uses data redundancy to protect internal data structures containing metadata vital to the integrity of the file system.

General Discussion

The Windows NT file system (NTFS version 4) provides a combination of performance, reliability, and compatibility not found in the FAT file system. It is designed to quickly perform standard file operations such as read, write, and search - and even advanced operations such as file-system recovery - on very large hard disks.

The NTFS file system includes security features required for file servers and high-end personal computers in a corporate environment. The NTFS file system also supports data access control and ownership privileges that are important for the integrity of critical data. While folders shared on a Windows computer are assigned particular permissions, NTFS files and folders can have permissions assigned whether they are shared or not. NTFS is the only file system on Windows that allows you to assign permissions to individual files.

(Sources for the above are from Microsoft and a variety of Internet indexes.)