exFAT
The extended File Allocation Table system or exFAT was designed by Microsoft and introduced in 2006. It allows for files larger than 4GB. It was adopted by the SD card association for the default file system of cards greater than 32GB. The limits of exFAT are measured in PetaBytes(PB) and ExaBytes(EB). It is important to note that if an OEM wants to use exFAT it needs to pay for the license to Microsoft.
Advantages:
- It supports the restoration of deleted files.
- Data recovery in the exFAT system is one of its highlights.
- There are no limits on file size or partition size practically.
Limitations:
- It’s not compatible with as many device types as compared to its predecessor FAT32.
- Unlike NTFS, advanced functionalities like Journaling functionality, disk quotas, file compression, etc are not available in exFAT.
- Data security is not as reliable as compared to NTFS.
Difference Between FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS File System
When you write data to a storage medium whether it’s a hard drive or an SSD or an SD card or a micro SD card or a USB flash drive you need to write the data in such a way that it can be found again. You can’t just write it randomly on a drive and then expect to get it back one day when you need it. It needs to be organized and that organization is called a file system.
A File System is a collection of rules and algorithms that is responsible for translating logical file operations to the physical storage of information. In simpler words, we can say that the file system controls the flow of storage and retrieval of data in a device.
There are 3 types of the file system in a device:
- FAT32
- exFAT
- NTFS
As mentioned earlier when you store a file on a disk, the operating system needs to know where the file is physically located. It needs to have a way to associate a file name with that file’s contents. In addition to that, there might be other things like folders and file permissions, etc. In this article, we will look into the key difference between them.