File Maintenance

With the company moving to Windows Server 2003 (WS2003), the IT group had to recommend what file system to deploy with WS2003. The team's goal is to define the file systems used by Windows. Then compare and contrast the file systems on the WS2003. Finally, recommend a file system to be used when the Riordan deploys WS2003.

Current Windows Operating Systems like Windows NT and WS2003 support three file systems. They are FAT, FAT32, and NTFS. FAT stands for File Allocation Table and was primarily used in DOS and Windows 3.1. FAT and FAT32 are similar to each other, except that FAT32 is designed for larger disks than FAT. The file system that works most easily with large disks is NTFS. (Microsofttechnet)

FAT, on WS2003, currently supports partitions up to 4 GB. The primary difference between FAT and FAT32 is the partition size. The FAT32 system, on WS2003, supports up to 4 TB. Unfortunately, FAT and FAT32 do not have good security features. Which means that files are accessible by any user on the Riordan network. WS2003 will support all file systems. However, since Riordan does not have any of the older operating systems like Windows 98 you won't need FAT or FAT32. NTFS or New Technology File System was introduced with Windows NT and addressed the issues of security. Also, NTFS supports partitions up to 16 EB. (dinicolo)

Where the file systems differ is in the area of security and file size. NTFS allows better scalability to large drives and the maximum drive size is much greater than FAT or FAT32. Also, as drive size increases, performance with NTFS doesn't degrade as it does with FAT. The following list shows a few reasons why NTFS will be better for Riordan. (Microsoft)

* Active Directory to view and control network resources easily.

* Domains, which are part of Active Directory, and are used to enhance and keep administration simple.

* File encryption, which greatly enhances security.

* Permissions that can be set on individual files rather than just folders.

Based on the group's research we recommend using the NTFS file structure with WS2003. Since Riordan will not be using any older operating systems like