Tasks Necessary for Setting Up a Hard Disk

• Initializing the disk with basic or dynamic storage type

• Creating partitions on basic disks or volumes on dynamic disks

• Formatting the disks with NTFS or FAT

Storage, Partition, and Volume Types

• Basic storage vs. dynamic storage

• Partitions vs. volumes

Storage Types

Partition Types (Basic Disks)

Volume Types (Dynamic Disks)

• Simple volume

• Spanned volume

• Mirrored volume

• Striped volume (RAID-0)

• RAID-5 volume

Dynamic Disk and Dynamic Volume Limitations

• Dynamic disks can be read only by computers running Microsoft Windows 2000.

• Dynamic disks cannot be used if you need to dual-boot to another operating system.

• Dynamic volumes are not supported on portable computers.

• Fault-tolerant configurations cannot be created locally on computers running Windows 2000 Professional.

File Systems

• Windows 2000 provides read and write support for the NTFS, FAT16, and FAT32 file systems.

• You should use NTFS when you require a partition to have file-level and folder-level security, disk compression, disk quotas, or encryption.

• Use NTFS if you plan to promote a server to a domain controller.

• To dual-boot Windows 2000 and another operating system, format the system partition with FAT.

Common Disk Management Tasks

• Disk-Management snap-in

• Working with simple values

• Working with spanned volumes

• Working with striped volumes

• Adding disks

• Changing storage type

• Viewing and updating information

Disk Management Snap-In

Working with Simple Volumes

• Can be extended to include unallocated space on the same disk

• Can set up two simple volumes that are mirrored to one another

• Can use the Computer Management snap-in to create or extend a simple volume

Working with Spanned Volumes

• Combining free space to create a spanned volume

• Extending and deleting volumes

Working with Striped Volumes

• Data is written evenly across all physical disks.

• Windows 2000 can issue and process concurrent I/O commands on all hard disks simultaneously.

• Files are written across all disks so that data is added to all disks at the same rate.

• You need at least two dynamic disks to create a striped volume.

• You cannot extend or mirror striped volumes.

Adding Disks

The process of removing multiple disks from one computer and installing them into another computer is much the same as the process for a single disk.

Changing Storage Type

• You can upgrade a disk from basic storage to dynamic storage at any time.

• After you upgrade a basic disk to a dynamic disk, you can create volumes with improved capabilities on the disk, but the disk cannot contain primary or extended partitions.

Viewing a Disk’s Properties

Viewing a Volume’s Properties

Managing Disks on a Remote Computer

• Must be a member of the Administrators group or the Server Operators group

• Can manage disks on a Windows 2000 computer that is a member of the same workgroup, domain, or trusted domain

Introduction to the FAT File System

• Two copies of the file allocation table are stored on the volume.

• FAT16 works the same in Windows 2000 as it does in MS‑DOS, Microsoft Windows 3.x, Microsoft Windows 95, and Microsoft Windows 98.

• FAT32 works the same in Windows 2000 as it does in Windows 95 OSR2 and Windows 98.

• When running Windows 2000, you can move or copy files between FAT and NTFS volumes.

• You cannot use Windows 2000 with any compression or partitioning software that requires disk drivers to be loaded by MS‑DOS.

The FAT16 File System

• Sectors

• Clusters

• Structure

Sectors

• The FAT disk format is organized into sectors.

• Each sector can store 512 bytes.

• A sector is the smallest unit used when transferring data.

Clusters

• A cluster is also referred to as an allocation unit.

• The cluster is the smallest unit the operating system uses when allocating file storage space on a FAT partition.

• Each cluster in a partition is identified.

Structure

Overview of FAT32

• FAT32 supports partitions larger than those handled by FAT16.

• FAT32 is implemented with as little change as possible to existing FAT16 architecture, internal data structures, APIs, and on-disk format.

• Many internal and on-disk data structures and published APIs have been revised or expanded.

FAT32 Partition Structure

File System Limits

• The maximum size of a FAT32 volume is limited by the maximum number of FAT entries, the number of sectors per cluster, and the 32-bit sector count in the partition record.

• FAT32 is limited by the maximum partition size possible per cluster size.

Introduction to NTFS

• Should try to format Windows 2000 partitions with NTFS

• Guarantees the consistency of the volume by using standard transaction logging and recovery techniques

• Supports all Windows 2000 operating system features

• Allows you to set local permissions on files and folders that specify which groups and users have access to them

Features of Windows 2000

• Reparse points

• Native Structured Storage (NSS)

• Disk quotas

• Sparse file support

• Line tracking and object identifiers

• Change Journal

• CD and DVD support

Reparse Points

• Files or directories that have user-controller data stored in the system-administered reparse attribute.

• Add behavior not present in the underlying file system.

• Enable layered file system filters to add user-controlled behavior to a file or directory.

• When a user accesses a folder that has a junction reparse point attribute associated with it, a series of actions occur.

• Windows 2000 allows the relative order of the file system stack to be altered.

• The Windows 2000 I/O subsystem builds the appropriate data structures to service requests and orchestrates the calling of the layers in turn.

• Reparse point enhancements include two features.

Native Structured Storage (NSS)

• Allows ActiveX documents to be physically stored in the same multistream format that ActiveX uses to logically process structured storage

• Makes a file on a disk look like an OLE-structured storage file

• Allows a file to be copied to a floppy, converting the file to the old format and vice versa

• A reparse point is placed on any file that uses NSS.

Disk Quotas

• Allow you to limit the amount of disk space users can consume

• Allow you to manage storage growth in a distributed environment

• Used in Windows 2000 on a per-partition basis

Sparse File Support

• Sparse files allow programs to create very large files but to consume disk space only as needed.

• NTFS includes full sparse file support for both compressed and uncompressed files.

Line Tracking and Object Identifiers

• Client applications can track link sources that have been moved locally or within a domain.

• File links are maintained if the link source file is moved from one NTFS volume to another within the same domain.

• File links are maintained if the name of the machine that holds the link source is renamed, the network shares on the link source machine are changed, or the volume holding the link source file is moved to another machine within the same domain.

Change Journal

• A sparse stream that creates a persistent log to track file information about additions, deletions, and modifications of each NTFS volume

• Does not affect a storage application unless it is specifically used by that application

CD and DVD Support

• CD‑ROM File System (CDFS)

• Universal Disk Format (UDF)

• DVD support

Structure of NTFS

• NTFS volume structure

• Windows 2000 boot sector

• Windows 2000 Master File Table and Metadata

• NTFS file attributes

NTFS Volume Structure

• NTFS uses clusters made up of one or many sectors as the fundamental unit of disk allocation.

• The default cluster size depends on the partition size.

• You can use the Disk Management snap-in to specify a cluster size up to 4 KB.

• If you use the Format.exe program to format an NTFS volume, you can specify any default cluster size. However, NTFS compression is not supported for cluster sizes greater than 4 KB.

• Specific cluster sizes are recommended for specific volume sizes.

Windows 2000 Boot Sector

• The first information found on an NTFS volume is the boot sector.

• The boot sector consists of two structures: the BIOS Parameter Block and code that describes how to find and load the startup files for the operating system.

Windows 2000 Master File Table and Metadata

• When a volume is formatted with NTFS, a Master File Table (MFT) and Metadata are created.

• NTFS uses MFT entries to define the files that they correspond to.

• NTFS creates a file record for each file and directory record created on an NTFS volume. Each file usually has one file record.

• Metadata consists of the files NTFS uses to implement the file system structure.

NTFS File Attributes

• Every allocated sector on an NTFS partition belongs to a file, including the file system Metadata.

• NTFS views each file or folder as a set of file attributes.

• An attribute type code and, optionally, an attribute name identify each attribute.

Implementation of NTFS

• Upgrading to Windows 2000

• Multibooting Windows 2000

• NTFS compatibility

Upgrading to Windows 2000

• Upgrading from Microsoft Windows NT

• Windows NT 4.0 SP4 or later conversion

• FAT volume conversion

Multibooting Windows 2000

• Network-accessible NTFS volumes on file or print servers are not converted as a result of client computer upgrades to Windows 2000.

• If a user multiple-boots Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0 SP4, any basic volumes formatted with NTFS used in Windows 2000 can be read.

• If a user multiple-boots Windows 2000 and a version of Windows NT that was released before Windows NT 4.0 SP4, the user cannot access the NTFS volumes.

NTFS Compatibility

• Ntfs.sys file system driver

• Mounting volumes

• Dual-boot systems

• Disk quotas

• Encryption

• Sparse files

• Object IDs

• USN Journal

• Reparse points

Shared Folder Permissions• Shared folder permissions apply to folders, not individual

files.

• Shared folder permissions do not restrict access to users who gain access to the folder at the computer where the folder is stored.

• Shared folder permissions are the only way to secure network resources on FAT volumes.

• The default folder permission is Full Control.

• A shared folder appears in Windows Explorer as an icon of a hand holding the shared folder.

• To control how users gain access to a shared folder, you must assign shared folder permissions.

• You can allow or deny shared folder permissions to individual users or to user groups.

Applying Shared Folder Permissions

• Multiple permissions.

• Denied permissions override allowed permissions.

• NTFS permissions.

• Copying or moving shared folders.

Guidelines for Shared Folder Permissions

• Determine which groups need access to each resource and the level of access they require.

• Assign permissions to groups instead of user accounts to simplify access administration.

• Assign the most restrictive permissions that still allow users to perform required tasks.

• Organize resources so that folders with the same security requirements are located within a folder.

• Use intuitive share names so that users can easily recognize and locate resources.

Requirements for Sharing Folders

• In a Windows 2000 domain, the Administrators group and the Server Operators group can share folders residing on any machines in the domain. The Power Users group can share only folders residing on the stand-alone server or the Windows 2000 Professional computer where the group is located.

• In a Windows 2000 workgroup, the Administrators group and the Power Users group can share folders on the Windows 2000 Server stand-alone computer or Windows 2000 Professional computer where the group is located.

• Users who are granted the Create Permanent Share Objects permission can also create shares on the computer where the right is assigned.

Administrative Shared Folders

• C$, D$, E$, . . .

• Admin$

• Print$

Sharing a Folder

• When you share a folder, you can give it a share name, provide comments, limit the number of users, assign permissions, and share the folder multiple times.

• The share properties are set on the Sharing tab of the Properties dialog box.

Modifying Shared Folders

• Stop sharing a folder.

• Modify the share name.

• Modify shared folder permissions.

• Share folder multiple times.

• Remove a share name.

Overview of NTFS Permissions

• NTFS permissions are a set of standard permissions that allow or deny access for each user or group.

• Windows 2000 provides two standard NTFS permissions.

Assigning NTFS Permissions

• NTFS Full Control permission

• Multiple NTFS permissions

• Permission inheritance

Guidelines for Assigning NTFS Permissions

• Group resources into application, data, and home folders.

• Use NTFS permissions to control access to files and folders.

• Assign permissions to groups rather than individual user accounts.

• When assigning permissions to home folders, centralize home folders on a network volume separate from applications and the operating system.

• When assigning permissions to working data or applications folders, remove the default Full Control permission from the Everyone group.

• When assigning permissions to public data folders, assign Modify permission and Read & Execute permission to the Users group and Full Control permission to the Creator Owner.

• It is better not to assign permissions than to deny permissions.

• Users should assign permissions to files and folders they own.

Overview of NTFS Permission Configuration

• Administrators and the owners of files and folders can assign permissions to user accounts and groups.

• Use the file’s or folder’s properties to assign permissions.

• When files or folders are copied, permissions are inherited or lost, depending on where the files or folders are copied to.

• Moving folders and files within and between NTFS volumes can affect the original permissions.