Microsoft Releases Details Of The New Windows 8 File System: ReFS

For all the Windows users, the good news are that Windows 8 is coming with a lot of new features. We recently wrote about how Storage Spaces, a really useful feature, is part of Windows 8. To complement and support Windows 8, Microsoft has also built a ‘designed-from-the-ground-up’ file system which is called ReFS. ReFS stands for Resilient File System and will initially be available only on Windows Server 8. Read further to know about the different features of ReFS.


Before ReFS, the file system that Microsoft introduced was ‘NTFS.’ NTFS stands for New Technology File System and it has been used in Windows XP as well as in Windows 7. Even in this new file system ReFS, informally known as ‘Protogon’, many components of NTFS have been used. For instance, the upper layer engine that is used in ReFS is the same as that in NTFS.  But the on-disk store engine is different in both file systems.

Microsoft has used some of the NTFS components in ReFS so that both could be compatible to some extent. Also, for now ReFS will be available only in Windows Server 8. This is because Microsoft wants to be sure that it works perfectly before making it available at the client end.

Some of the high points of ReFS are that it will be very helpful in verifying and auto-correcting the data that is stored. Moreover, it will detect data corruption and will help in avoiding it. According to Microsoft, ReFS coupled with Storage Space, which is a dynamic way of creating single virtual drive from multiple devices, will be a great feature of the upcoming Windows 8 and will be far more effective in the storage and security of data.

Image courtesy Ceo1017.

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Salman

Salman Latif is a software engineer with a specific interest in social media, big data and real-world solutions using the two.Other than that, he is a bit of a gypsy. He also writes in his own blog. You can find him on Google+ and Twitter .

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