David works as a Server Administrator for www.company.com Inc. The company uses the Windows 7 operating system. David has found some disk-related errors. He wants to use permissions and encryption to restrict access to specific files to approved users. Which of the following file systems will David use to accomplish the task?
A.
FAT
B.
NTFS
C.
EFS
D.
FAT64
Explanation:
NTFS is a file system that is used in Windows 7. It is capable of recovering from some disk-related errors automatically. It has improved support for larger hard disks. In NTFS, a user can use permissions and encryption to restrict access to specific files to approved users. Answer A is incorrect. FAT is a file system supported by Windows NT. The FAT file system is characterized by the file allocation table (FAT). This is a table that resides at the very “top” of the volume. To protect the volume, two copies of FAT are kept in case one becomes damaged. In addition, the FAT tables and the root directory must be stored in a fixed location so that the system’s boot files can be correctly located.
Answer D is incorrect. Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT), also known as FAT64, is a proprietary file system of Microsoft. The exFAT file system is suited especially for flash drives to be used in embedded devices for Microsoft’s newer operating systems, such as Windows Vista Service Pack 1, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, etc. The exFAT file system not only handles large files but also enables seamless interoperability between desktop PCs and devices, such as portable media devices, so that files can easily be copied between desktop and device. It is better adapted to the growing needs of mobile personal storage. According to Microsoft, the exFAT file system has the following advantages:
Enables the file system to handle growing capacities in media, increasing capacity to 32 GB and larger.
Handles more than 1000 files in a single directory.
Speeds up storage allocation processes.
Removes the previous file size limit of 4 GB.
Supports interoperability with future desktop OSs.
Provides an extensible format, including OEM-definable parameters to customize the file system for specific device characteristics.
The exFAT file system can be used where the NTFS file system is not a feasible solution (due to data structure overhead), or where the file size or directory restrictions of previous versions of the FAT file system are unacceptable.
Answer C is incorrect. The Encrypting File System (EFS) is a feature of Windows that permits a user to store information on a hard disk in an encrypted format that is obtained by encryption. Encryption is the process of encoding data for preventing unauthorized access during transmission.