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Re: FAT32 quicker than NTFS

 
'chris'
Super Advisor

FAT32 quicker than NTFS

hi

I have two WIN2000 Server (same hardware) with Symantec Ghost (Corporate Edition) 7.5 one installed on FAT32 and NTFS.

I use NET USE (NetBEUI) with bootdisk to save or write the IMAGE through the network.

In my case the server on FAT32 is much quicker
than the server installed on NTFS.

can someone explain why ?

kind regards
chris
5 REPLIES 5
Massimo Bianchi
Honored Contributor

Re: FAT32 quicker than NTFS

Hi,
i'm not a window guru, but FAT structures are much simpler than NTFS, so updates and chanhes are faster.


On the other side, NTFS is a journaled FS, more robust to crash, more reliable, supports bigger sizes and many other features.


Maybe this post is more appropriate for the windows section.

HTH,
Massimo

R. Sri Ram Kishore_1
Respected Contributor

Re: FAT32 quicker than NTFS

Hi Chris,

Check out these links (some good explanations out there):
a) http://www.digit-life.com/articles/ntfs/index3.html
b) http://forums.devhardware.com/archive/t-2400
c) http://www.spcug.org/reviews/bl0203.htm

HTH.

Regards,
Sri Ram
"What goes up must come down. Ask any system administrator."
R. Sri Ram Kishore_1
Respected Contributor

Re: FAT32 quicker than NTFS

Hi Chris,

Take a look at these links too:
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cook/Cluster.htm
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/index.php?showtutorial=34&
http://www2.geek.com/discus/messages/24/7139.html?1080054041

HTH.
Regards,
Sri Ram

"What goes up must come down. Ask any system administrator."
Antoniov.
Honored Contributor

Re: FAT32 quicker than NTFS

Hi Chris,
because you write from a far client throught the network the first question is:
Do you write quicker on local machine?
To compare both FS you need same HD, same size of partition because might be a HD quicker than other (i.e 10,000 rpm vs 7,200 rpm, SCSI vs IDE), same NIC (Network Interface Card, 100mps vs 10mps, full-duplex vs half-duplex, buffered NIC vs. unbuffered NIC).
So I'm not sure FAT32 is quicker than NTFS.
Check and compare full hardware installed.

Regards
Antonio Vigliotti
Antonio Maria Vigliotti
Thomas Bianco
Honored Contributor

Re: FAT32 quicker than NTFS

although, as stated above, the file system is a rather minor componet of the speed piture, there are a few things to understand.

FAT32 is a very simple filesystem, designed for small* files in small* numbers. it starts to bog if you have a large number of files or reading a large file. FAT32 is an extension to FAT16 (or simply FAT), which is itself an extension to the original FAT (called FAT12 now)

NTFS, on the other hand, was designed to deal primarily with server space, where file numbers and file sizes are often astronomical by compairison. it also supports journaling, Sparse files, per file security and other advanced features.

the answer is, of course, that there is less to be done on a FAT32 system.


* by today's standards, of course, because no one will EVER need more then 640k ram.
There have been Innumerable people who have helped me. Of course, I've managed to piss most of them off.