Clone ReFS Drive: Disk Copy Is Upgraded to Support ReFS File System

What is a ReFS file system? This article will describe what the ReFS file system is and how to clone a ReFS drive with the best disk cloning software - EaseUS Disk Copy.

NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT are 3 common Windows file systems when formatting a hard drive, but you still have another option: ReFS (Resilient File System). This article from EaseUS will tell you what is a ReFS file system and how to clone ReFS drive with the best disk cloning software, EaseUS Disk Copy, which supports the ReFS file system!

What Is Resilient File System (ReFS)

ReFS, the newest and proprietary Microsoft file system introduced with Windows Server 2012 and aiming to become the "next generation" file system after NTFS, is designed to overcome some of the limitations in NTFS. Designed to maximize data availability, scalability, integrity, and high-performance and mission-critical workloads, ReFS addresses some growing issues and lays a solid foundation for more advanced technological improvements in the future.

Windows PCs are pre-formatted into NTFS, including storage drives, external drives, and USB drives. Still, Microsoft is planning to bring ReFS to replace NTFS on specific systems, according to references in the latest Windows 11 preview build. NTFS has its place, and so does ReFS.

Support Systems

ReFS supports Windows Server 2012/2016/2019/2022, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (ReFS volume creation ability was removed from all Windows 10 editions except Enterprise and Pro for Workstations in 2017 Fall Creators Update), and Windows 11.

Use Cases for ReFS

• Data Centers: ReFS is designed to cope with large file sizes or large numbers of files, supporting file and volume sizes nearly 137 times bigger than NTFS. It is an ideal option for individuals and organizations with data-intensive applications.
• Virtualized Environments: ReFS is incorporated with Microsoft's Hyper-V. It lets you perform a handful of tasks, including automatic data integrity validation, improved performance for virtual hard disks, and support features like Storage Spaces Direct, Data Deduplication, and more.
• Storage Pools: ReFS is able to use Storage Spaces in Windows, enabling users to combine multiple physical drives into a single logical unit, thus enhancing performance and redundancy.

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Main Features of ReFS File System

ReFS offers a solution for mission-critical and high-performance storage needs. The following is a breakdown of the key functions that set it apart from other file systems:

Resilience

The most significant feature of ReFS is resiliency. ReFS introduces new features that can accurately detect and fix corruptions while remaining online, helping increase the integrity and availability of your data:

• Integrity Streams: ReFS employs checksums for metadata and file data, making it detect corruptions reliably.
• Storage Spaces Integration: ReFS can automatically repair detected corruptions with the alternate copy of the data offered by Storage Spaces.
• Salvaging Data: If a volume is distorted and an alternate copy of the corrupted data does not exist, ReFS can remove the corrupt data from the namespace. ReFS keeps the volume online while handling most non-correctable corruptions, but in rare cases, ReFS is required to take the volume offline.
• Proactive Error Correction: ReFS has a data integrity scanner, which is identified as a scrubber except for verifying data before reading and writing. This scrubber scans the volume regularly, detects latent corruptions, and proactively repairs data.

Performance

ReFS also offers new functions for virtualized and performance-sensitive workloads. ReFS's evolving capabilities, designed to serve dynamic and varied workloads, are exemplified by real-time tier optimization, block cloning, and sparse valid data length (VDL). This is why it can support large volumes with high read-and-write activity without compromising performance.

Scalability

ReFS is designed to support massive data sets (millions of terabytes) without negatively affecting performance, thus achieving a more significant scale than prior file systems.

Reliability

ReFS provides a highly reliable data storage solution by combining features, including automatic repair, checksumming, and redundancy options.

ReFS Advantages & Disadvantages

ReFS has its benefits and drawbacks. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of this file system before selecting it is a wise choice. You will acquire what you want in the following table.

How to Use ReFS File System

Currently, ReFS is only available in Windows 10 through the storage space feature. In addition, you need to create a two-way mirror with two hard disks and format storage using Storage Spaces in ReFS. If you just want to test how to use ReFS but do not have the necessary extra hard drives (2), you can use 2 virtual drives.

Step 1. Type "control panel" in the Windows search box, then click System and Security > Storage Spaces.

Step 2. Click Create a new pool and storage space.

Step 3. Click Create pool. Then, assign a drive letter for the pool, set the size, and select ReFS file system. After that, click Create to complete the process.

The ReFS is designed to replace NTFS and helps prevent data corruption, but it still has a long way to go to serve as the largest Windows file system.