Technical Note: XTN505
XenData Archive Series software uses a logical disk for archiving which is formatted with the NTFS file system. NTFS organizes the magnetic disk storage based upon a cluster (or allocation unit) size, which represents the smallest amount of disk space that must be allocated to hold a file. This means that when file sizes are not multiples of the cluster size, extra space must be used to hold the file (up to the next multiple of the cluster size). A general consideration when using NTFS is that the amount of space wasted is equal to the number of files x the cluster size / 2. A further XenData-specific consideration is that Archive Series software creates two additional small files per archived file. Each of these additional files will consume a whole cluster.
The default cluster size for NTFS is 4KB which creates an average overhead of about 10 KB when using Archive Series software. In applications with large files, this overhead is not significant. However for small files, say less than 50 KB on average, the cluster size and associated overhead should be considered.
The cluster size may be changed by reformatting the logical drive that is to be used for the archive. This operation should be performed prior to installing the XenData software. Choosing a smaller cluster size than the default value of 4 KB can greatly reduce the overhead. For example, setting the cluster size to 512 bytes will reduce the average overhead per archived file to about 1.3 KB.
Reference: Microsoft technote Q140365.
Applicable Operating Systems
- Windows Server 2008 R2
- Windows Server 2012 R2
- Windows Server 2016
- Windows Server 2019
Applicable XenData Software
This technical note is applicable to:
- Version 5 – Server Editions of Archive Series software
- Version 6 – Server Editions of Archive Series software
- Version 7 – Server Editions of Archive Series software including the Cloud File Gateway
PBS
XenData’s fully supported clustered server meets all the requirements for our disaster recovery site. We have been very pleased with the SX-525 product and XenData’s technical team who have provided system design and integration services above and beyond expectations.
James Cutright, Director, Project Management
PBS
Crew Cuts
I did my research, and the best archive solution was from XenData which manages a robotic LTO library behind the scenes. This helps to minimize our total costs and allows us to focus on producing great content for our customers.
Chris Keenan, CTO
Crew Cuts
Ideal Systems Singapore
We partnered with XenData for the GlobeCast Broadcast facility rollout, because it offers one of the most cost effective, robust digital video archives on the market and a great migration alternative to some of the more expensive digital video archive vendor offerings.
Fintan Mc Kiernan, CEO
Ideal Systems Singapore
North Shore Automation
Having completed over 25 joint installations of XenData archive systems, we have found everyone on the XenData team to be both highly professional and super responsive and their technology to be rock solid. They are truly a pleasure to work with.
Bryson Jones, Founder
North Shore Automation
This is Just a Test
With over 558 TB of content and growing, conventional backup solutions just don’t work for us. Our XenData system allows us to maintain an ongoing mirrored copy of our shared storage while creating replica LTO copies for offsite storage.
Nathan Flom
This is Just a Test
Excelencia
We have now installed over 170 XenData archive systems across Mexico and they have proven to be very reliable. In addition, the technical support from XenData has been outstanding.
Jorge Castaneda, President
Excelencia en Comunicaciones y Tecnología