Five new features of Vista storage

Microsoft is making a big step backwards, so vista can take 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 in storage management features. The new Vista has an improved file system, natively supported hybrid disk drives (H-HDD), split volumes, extended I/O prioritization, and drive encryption features.

The leading analyst for memory I/O, Greg Schulz, sees these features as Microsoft has finally confessed to the reality that memory management is no longer the periphery of the Windows operating system and is really part of its core system. Schulz cited Vistsa's new interactive file system as evidence that Microsoft finally realized the importance of memory. "A log file system can make vista more than just a platform to run games on," Schulz said.

File system Improvements

Vista's interactive NTFS, like Longhorn's TXF, allows the user 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 can become corrupted because the save operation is only partially completed. To prevent this from happening, TxF opens the file in interactive mode, saving the file and then putting it into interaction. If an error occurs while the system is saving, it can restore the file to its pre-existing condition, which prevents data corruption.

Vista's file system also includes significant corrections to support for the SMB (Server Message Block) 2.0 protocol. One of the more annoying areas of SMB 2.0 addresses is the cumbersome SMB 1.0 protocol. According to Navjot Virk, a Microsoft software Design engineer, "SMB 2.0 supports random, scalable, and compound operations to reduce unnecessary back-and-forth, making it less cumbersome than SMB 1.0." ”

Vsita also manages the file handle. SMB 2.0 increases the number of open 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, which prevents users from losing connections to the server when some transient network failure occurs.

Whether to use SMB 1.0 or the 2.0 protocol, depending on the negotiation stage between the customer and the service provider, and the customer will advertise 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 would be back to SMB 1.0, preserving the Vista and the next tier and its compatibility, although they are abandoning the benefits of SMB 2.0," Virk said.

Hybrid drive Accelerated I/O saves battery

Another storage feature added by Vista is its local support for H-HDD, which also brings short-and long-term benefits to the user. Using flash memory and traditional hard disk space in their build, Vista can tell Vista whether it is a h-hdd by sending an ATA command to H-HDD to identify a hybrid driver.

Users of mobile phones will be able to see some direct benefits of using the entire feature. "The first advantage that mobile phone users can realize is that they allow random I/O flash devices instead of hard drives in a h-hdd-driven way, which can make those small pieces of data 10 times times faster," said Matt Ayers, project manager at the Windows Client team.

Microsoft also believes that H-HDD will be able to extend the lifespan of battery and disk partitioning. Just as Windows READYDRIVE,H-HDD cache disk reads and writes do not need to run through the hard disk partition. According to Hiroshi Sakakibara, the product manager of the Windows Customer team, this saves battery power on the machine and prevents disk errors that occur on the laptop when it travels. "Windows readydrive makes your laptop more durable because it will make your disk more unnecessary to keep running and not be too sensitive to read and write, causing damage," Sakakibara said.

Greg Schulz also believes that one of the long-term benefits that companies will achieve is that application-based programs can learn to leverage some of the application data stored in the H-HDD cache in their ability to work. "Aix has been able to connect to an IBM storage line and tell them what data remains in memory," Schulz said. I expect that the Windows application will eventually make good use of this feature. ”

Split Volume

Another feature of the new Windows Vista-the split volume-is a feature that the user 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 also a windwos Vista beta-tester David Stevens, questioned whether this feature could be of great use to him. "From the perspective of huge storage, this feature makes storage attached to a storage area network more difficult to handle, and since it can't help me identify which logical unit number needs to be restored, I'll probably not be able to track which memory is used by which application," Stevens said.

I/O Virtualization

The improved prioritization of I/O in Vista is a Schulz interest. While Windows and domestic support for i/p prioritization, today's achievements can lead to blocking of some segment ends. Schulz analysis of the road. "The problem is similar to the two cars that are on the interstate at 40 meters per hour. Both of them are first, but they also slow the speed of each other. ”

Vista fixes this existing problem with Windows execution, and it even gives a higher priority to the associated concatenation of low-priority, allowing it to be added to the Task Queue Manager, and the Windows operating system can serve it on basic guidelines. In this way, managers can set tasks to run in the background with low priority, such as defragmenting the disk. Working in this way, they will not have an impact on other important applications, and Vista will not completely ignore these tasks.

Another I/O prioritization feature is that Windows Vista improves the ability to identify and manage streaming data. When retrieving data from disk is still in progress, media applications can usually start their tasks and compensate for missing or aborted packets. Vista coordinates these applications by presetting the minimum and maximum amount of bandwidth within their I/O subsystem. These assured applications minimize the throughput required for streaming video and allow them to obtain additional data in advance when there is no additional burden on the application running on the system and more bandwidth is available.

Enhanced Storage security

Finally, Vista uses its new full-volume 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 that are partitioned on Windows operating system hard disks to prevent unauthorized users from damaging Windows file and system protection on lost or stolen computers. Data encryption is possible in two ways: the user-supplied personal identification number (PIN), and the insertion of a USB flash drive containing the key contents. All encryption keys are protected by the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2, which uses trusted hardware and security-licensed software, which makes security less vulnerable to virtual or physical attacks.

If a user forgets his or her personal identification code or loses a USB flash drive, Vista still provides a way for the manager to regain the lost key. To do this, Microsoft's lead project manager, Russ Humphries, advises that managers can help users use an Active Directory Group Policy object when setting up BitLocker functionality. This way, when a user enters a password or plugs into a USB device, the regain key can be automatically conditionally entered into the Active Directory.

The new storage features contained in Windows Vista mean that Microsoft has finally realized that it must make improvements in storage to balance the resources of the entire operating system, Schulz said. He concludes that "these new management features in Vista clearly show that when Microsoft designs its operating system, storage is no longer a superficial secondary issue, and is already very close to its core." ”