Vista's five major storage features introduced

  
Microsoft has taken a big step back, so Vista can make a big step forward. The new storage features in the upcoming Vista operating system reflect Microsoft's recognition that its Windows operating system lags behind other competitors' platforms in storage management features. The new Vista has an improved file system, native support for mixed disk drives (H-HDD), split volumes, extended I/O prioritization, and drive encryption.
Greg Schulz, the leading analyst of memory I/O, sees these features as Microsoft finally confessed to the reality that memory management is no longer a peripheral to the Windows operating system, but is actually part of its core system. Schulz cited Vistsa's new interactive file system as evidence to prove that Microsoft finally realized the importance of memory. “A journaling file system makes Vista more than just a platform on which to run games,” Schulz said.
File System Improvements
Vista's interactive NTFS, like Longhorn's TxF, allows users to completely save data in an environment where errors cannot be predicted. For example, if a computer fails when an application saves information to disk, the data may be corrupted because the save operation is only partially completed. To prevent this from happening, TxF opens the file in interactive mode, and then puts the interaction after saving the file. If the system makes an error while saving the operation, it can restore the file to its pre-existing conditions, thus preventing data corruption.
Vista's file system also includes significant corrections for support for the SMB (Server Message Block) 2.0 protocol. One of the more annoying aspects of the SMB 2.0 address is the cumbersome SMB 1.0 protocol. According to Navjot Virk, a software design engineer at Microsoft, "SMB 2.0 supports random, scalable hybrid operations to reduce unnecessary back and forth, making it less cumbersome than SMB 1.0. & rdquo;
Vsita also manages file handles. SMB 2.0 adds the number of simultaneous file handles that a server can support, as well as the amount of allocated trees that a server can allocate. SMB 2.0 also provides more persistent file handles to prevent users from losing connections to the server in the event of a brief network failure.
Is using SMB 1.0 or 2.0, depending on the negotiation phase between the customer and the service provider, and the customer is advertising to the service provider who understands the new SMB 2.0 protocol. “If the service provider understands the new SMB 2.0 protocol, it will be selected, otherwise it will fall back to SMB 1.0, retaining Vista and its next layer and its compatibility, even though they have given up the benefits of SMB 2.0,” Virk said.
Hybrid Drive Accelerates I/O Saves Battery
Another storage feature added by Vista is its native support for H-HDD, which also brings short-term and long-term benefits to users. Using flash memory and traditional hard disk space in their builds, Vista can tell Vista whether it is an H-HDD by sending an ATA command to the H-HDD to identify a hybrid driver.
Mobile phone users will be able to see some immediate benefits of using the entire feature. “The first thing that mobile phone users can realize is that H-HDD-driven mode allows some random I/O flash devices instead of hard drives, which can make those small pieces of data get ten times faster.” Matt Ayers, project manager for the Windows client team, said.
Microsoft also believes that H-HDD will extend the life of batteries and disk partitions. Just like Windows ReadyDrive, H-HDD cache disk reads and writes do not need to run through the hard disk partition. According to Hiroshi Sakakibara, product manager for the Windows client team, this saves battery power on the machine and prevents disk errors when using laptops while traveling. “Windows ReadyDrive makes your laptop more durable, because it will keep your disk from constantly vibrating, and it won't be overly sensitive due to constant reading and writing, causing it to be damaged,” Sakakibara said.
Greg Schulz also believes that a long-term benefit the company will achieve is that application programmers can learn to use some of the application data stored in the H-HDD's cache. Schulz said, “AIX has been able to contact an IBM storage line and tell them which data remains in memory. I anticipate that Windows applications will eventually take advantage of this feature. & rdquo;
split volume
Another new Windows Vista features & mdash; & mdash; split volume, this is a feature that users will at least ask how much value it can provide. Split volumes allow users to reduce the size of a disk volume so that managers can redistribute existing space for other purposes. A system manager at Carnegie Mellon University and a Windwos Vista beta tester, David Stevens, wondered if this feature would make a big difference for him. “From the perspective of huge storage capacity, this feature makes the storage attached to the storage area network more difficult to handle. Since it does not help me identify which logical unit number needs to be recovered, I will probably not be able to track which application is used. Which memory, & rdquo; Stevens said.
I/O Virtualization
The priority of prioritizing I/O in Vista has actually attracted Schulz's interest. Although Windows and domestic support I/P prioritization, current achievements may cause some line segment blocking. Schulz analyzed. “This problem is similar to the two cars that are heading at the speed of 40 meters per hour and on the interstate. They all have the first place at the same time, but they also slow down the opponent's speed. & rdquo;
Vista fixes this problem in existing Windows implementations, it even allows low-priority related concatenation to get a higher priority, so that it can be added to the task queue manager, Windows operating system It can be served on the basic guidelines. This way, the administrator can set the task to run at a low priority in the background, such as disk reorganization. Working in this way, they won't affect other important applications, and Vista won't completely ignore them.
Another I/O prioritization feature is the ability of Windows Vista to improve the ability to identify and manage streaming data. When data is still being retrieved from disk, media applications can usually begin their tasks and compensate for missing or aborted packets. Vista coordinates these applications by pre-setting the minimum and maximum amount of bandwidth for these applications within their I/O subsystem. These guaranteed applications minimize the throughput required for streaming video without errors, and allow for pre-acquisition when there is no more bandwidth on the system and more bandwidth is available. Additional data.
Enhanced Storage Security
Finally, Vista uses its new full-disk encryption technology (BitLocker Drive Encryption) to enhance security support for both fixed and removable media. The primary goal of this feature is to encrypt data on volumes on the Windows operating system's hard disk partitions, preventing unauthorized users from corrupting Windows files and system protection on lost or stolen computers. There are two ways to encrypt data. One is the user-provided personal identification number (PIN), and the other is the USB flash drive that contains the key content. All encryption keys are protected by the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2, which uses trusted hardware and software that is authorized for security, so that security is not as vulnerable to virtual or physical attacks.
If the user forgets his PIN or loses the USB flash drive, Vista still provides a way for the administrator to regain the lost key. To do this, Microsoft's lead project manager, Russ Humphries, suggests that managers can help users use an Active Directory Group Policy object when setting up BitLocker functionality. Thus, when the user enters a password or inserts a USB device, the retrieved key can be automatically and conditionally entered into the Active Directory.
Schulz said that these new storage features included in Windows Vista mean that Microsoft finally realized that it must make improvements in storage to balance the resources of the entire operating system. He concludes that these new management features in Vista clearly show that storage is no longer a superficial secondary issue when Microsoft designs its operating system, but is already very close to its core. ”
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