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This article mainly introduces "what are the main characteristics of APFS". In daily operation, I believe many people have doubts about the main characteristics of APFS. The editor consulted all kinds of materials and sorted out simple and easy-to-use methods of operation. I hope it will be helpful for you to answer the doubts about "what are the main characteristics of APFS?" Next, please follow the editor to study!

APFS is the abbreviation of Apple File System, which means Apple file system. The file system is used to manage stored files, such as basic CRUD (create, read, update, delete), and so on. Since it is the technology used to manage the files that are "stored", we have to talk about the most basic thing of "storage".

Characteristics and improvement

To quickly popularize the science, the file system is the basic structure used by the operating system to store and retrieve data. Different file systems implement this task in different ways. As computers become faster and faster, the new generation of file systems have benefited from the increase in computer speed to provide new features and adapt to modern storage needs.

HFS+, as a file system attached to today's new generation of Mac, is 18 years old. Its ancestor HFS is older than Tom Cruise's brotherly romance, Top Gun. It's kind of like an old Toyota. It still works (perhaps surprisingly well), but it is no longer rewarded.

APFS is not exactly an upgrade of HFS+, because it is a quantum leap compared to what it is now. While this is a major upgrade for Apple users, it looks more like Apple has caught up with other systems than surpassed them. However, the update is still progressing very slowly.

Cloning and data integrity

APFS uses a scheme called copy-on-write (copy-on-write) to generate instant clones of duplicate files. Under HFS+, when a user copies a file, every bit (the "bit" in the binary) is copied. APFS, on the other hand, creates clones by manipulating metadata and allocating disk space. However, no bits are copied until the copied file is modified. Those changes (and only those changes) are saved when the clone is separated from the original copy.

Replication while writing also improves data integrity. On other systems, if you unmount a volume and cause an overwrite to hang, you may find that part of your file system is out of sync with others. Replication on write avoids this problem by writing changes to available disk space rather than overwriting old files. The old file is an official version until the write operation completes successfully. Only when the new file is successfully copied will the old file be purged.

System snapshot

Snapshots are one of the major upgrades that replication schemas bring you when writing. A snapshot is a read-only mountable image of a file system at some point in time. As the file system changes, only the changed bits are changed. This makes backups simpler and more reliable. Considering that the time machine (an Apple backup tool) has become a pain point for hard links, this could be a major upgrade.

Quality of Service (QoS) for input / output

You may have seen the term QoS in your router manual. QoS prioritizes bandwidth use to avoid slowing down priority tasks. On your router, it uses user-defined rules to provide maximum bandwidth for specified tasks. According to reports, Apple's QoS will give priority to user actions, such as active windows. Background tasks such as time machine backups will be degraded. So, does that mean less leisure time?

Local encryption

In the post-Snowden era, encryption has become a public concern. More and more Apple products are emphasizing its system security. The built-in powerful encryption mechanism is not surprising. Apple, including APFS, is adopting a more nuanced encryption scheme, either not encrypting it or going through with it. Users can use a single key to encrypt all data, or use multiple encryption keys to lock individual files and folders respectively. Of course, you can also not encrypt, as long as you are not afraid of the bad guys.

Solid state disk and flash memory optimization

Flash optimization has been listed as a highlight of APFS, but its implementation is not that exciting. Apple chose to migrate the processing capabilities of some typical solid-state disk chips to the operating system without the advantage of deep system integration. This is more like making file systems aware of SSDs than optimizing them.

Dynamic partition adjustment

The logical partition of an APFS drive can resize itself dynamically. The user only needs to specify the number of partitions required, and the file system allocates disks at run time. Each partition occupies only the disk space it uses to store files. The remaining disk space will be obtained by any partition. The design is neat, but it's more like a meta folder than other file systems.

At this point, the study on "what are the main characteristics of APFS" is over. I hope to be able to solve your doubts. The collocation of theory and practice can better help you learn, go and try it! If you want to continue to learn more related knowledge, please continue to follow the website, the editor will continue to work hard to bring you more practical articles!

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