Disk Partitioning Methods and File Systems
Disk Partitioning Methods and File Systems
Introduction
Lab Topology
Exercise 1 - Perform Disk Partitioning
Exercise 2 - Work with Different File Systems
Review
Introduction
Disk partitioning
Files Systems
A+
Learning Outcomes
In this module, you will complete the following exercises:
Exam Objectives
The following exam objectives are covered in this lab:
Lab Duration
It will take approximately 45 minutes to complete this lab.
Lab Topology
During your session, you will have access to the following lab
configuration.
Depending on the exercises, you may or may not use all of the devices,
but they are shown here in the layout to get an overall understanding of
the topology of the lab.
Learning Outcomes
After completing this exercise, you will be able to:
Your Devices
You will be using the following device in this lab. Please power on the
device now.
Step 1
Ensure that the required devices are powered on and connect to
PLABWIN10.
Disk Management
Select The Create and format hard disk partitions from the
search results.
Figure 1.1 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Selecting Create and
format hard disk partitions from the search results.
Step 2
The Disk Management window is displayed. Right-click Disk 1 and
select Convert to Dynamic Disk from the context menu.
Alert: Ensure you click in the Grey area on the left side. Clicking
on the drive label box will not provide this option in the context
menu.
Figure 1.2 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Right-clicking Disk 1
and selecting Convert to Dynamic Disk from the context
menu.
Step 3
The Convert to Dynamic Disk dialog box is displayed. Ensure that
Disk 1 is selected. Click OK.
Figure 1.3 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Selecting e disk drive
to convert to a dynamic disk in the Disk Management.
Step 4
The Disk to Convert dialog box is displayed. Click Convert.
Figure 1.4 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Clicking the Convert
button in the Disks to Convert dialog box.
Step 5
Notice that the Disk 1 status is set to Basic.
Step 6
You are back on the Disk Management window. Notice that the
Disk 1 status has now changed to Dynamic.
Step 1
Ensure that the Disk Management window is open.
Right-click USB (D:) in the right pane and then select Delete
volume.
Figure 1.7 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Selecting the Delete
Volume option from the context menu.
Step 2
The Delete simple volume dialog box is displayed. Click Yes.
Step 3
Notice that the USB (D:) name is no longer visible. This space is now
empty and can be used for creating a partition.
Step 4
The New Simple Volume Wizard is displayed.
On the Welcome to the New Simple Volume Wizard page, click
Next.
Step 5
On the Specify Volume Size page, keep the default volume size and
click Next.
Figure 1.11 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Setting the size of the
simple volume on the Specify Volume Size page.
Step 6
On the Assign Drive Letter or Path page, keep the default selection
for the drive letter and click Next.
Figure 1.12 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Assigning the drive
letter on the Assign Drive Letter or Path page.
Step 7
On the Format Partition page, keep the default options and click
Next.
Figure 1.13 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Setting the format
options on the Format Partition page.
Step 8
On the Completing the New Simple Volume Wizard page, click
Finish.
Figure 1.14 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Showing the
completion of the New Simple Volume Wizard.
Step 9
You are back on the Disk Management window. A new primary
partition has been created.
Step 2
The Delete simple volume dialog box is displayed. Click Yes.
Figure 1.17 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Displaying a warning
on the Delete simple volume dialog box.
Step 3
Disk 1 currently has no partitions, and it is marked as Unallocated.
Right-click Disk 1, and then select Convert to MBR Disk from the
context menu.
Figure 1.18 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Selecting the Convert
to MBR Disk option from the context menu.
Step 4
Right-click the Unallocated space, and then select New Simple
Volume from the context menu.
Figure 1.19 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Selecting the New
Simple Volume option from the context menu.
Step 5
The New Simple Volume Wizard is displayed.
Step 6
On the Specify Volume Size page, enter the following value in the
Simple volume size in MB text box:
500
Step 7
On the Assign Drive Letter or Path page, keep the default values
and click Next.
Figure 1.22 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Assigning the drive
letter on the Assign Drive Letter or Path page.
Step 8
On the Format Partition page, keep the default values and click
Next.
Figure 1.23 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Setting the format
options on the Format Partition page.
Step 9
On the Completing the New Simple Volume Wizard page, click
Finish.
Figure 1.24 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Showing the
completion of the New Simple Volume Wizard.
Step 10
Create two more primary partitions following Step 3 to Step 9. Then,
create another partition of 500 MB in size. Notice that this partition
will automatically be marked as Logical. The first three partitions are
marked as Primary.
GPT stands for a GUID partition table. A standard called EFI defines
the structure of the partition table. GPT is a part of the EFI standard.
GPT is an enhanced version of the master boot record (MBR)
partitioning system. By using GPT, it is possible to overcome the
limitations of an MBR partitioning system.
Step 1
Right-click Disk 2 and then select the Convert to MBR Disk from
the context menu.
Step 2
Now that the disk is in the MBR format, it can be converted back to the
GPT format. Right-click on the Disk 2 and then select Convert to
GPT Disk from the context menu.
Figure 1.27 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Selecting Convert to
GPT Disk from the context menu.
Step 3
The Disk 2 is set as GPT disk. Visually, you will not be able to
differentiate between the MBR or GPT disk.
CDFS stands for Compact Disk File Format. CDFS is present in the
Linux and Windows operating systems. In Linux, CDFS is used to
transfer tracks and bootable images to the compact disk. In windows,
CDFS acts as a driver to CD-ROM players. The job of the driver
software is to facilitate the use of a CD-ROM drive. Without CDFS
being available, it is not possible to use a CD-ROM drive on the
Windows operating system.
Ex3 stand for third extended files system and Ex4 stands for the fourth
extended file system. Ex3 and Ex4 are Linux file systems. These files
systems are not supported on other platforms, like Windows and Mac
OS. The maximum file size in Ex3 file system is between 16 GB and
2TB, and in Ex4, it is 16 TB. The maximum volume size in Ex3 is 2 TB
to 32 TB. In Ex4, the maximum volume size is 1EB. The maximum
number of files that can be stored using the Ex3 system varies. For Ex4
system, this number is 4 billion.
Learning Outcomes
After completing this exercise, you will be able to:
Your Devices
You will be using the following device in this lab. Please power on this
device.
NTFS is the default file system on the recent version of Windows. NTFS
has many advantages over FAT32 and ExFAT systems. Some of these
features are access rights, backup copies, encryption, and hard links.
The partition containing the Windows operating system must be NTFS.
In this exercise, you will learn to create FAT32 and NTFS file systems.
Step 1
Ensure that the Disk Management window is open.
Right-click New Volume (D:) and select Format from the context
menu.
PLAB
Note: The Quick Format and Full Format work in the same
manner. Both of these format the partition. The only difference is
that Quick Format does not check the disk for errors and
therefore, formats the partition quickly. On the other hand, the
Full Format checks the partition for errors like bad sectors.
Step 5
You are back on the Disk Management window. Notice that the
partition is now marked as PLAB. Also, notice that the other partitions
are marked as NTFS.
Figure 2.5 Screenshot of PLABWIN10: Showing FAT32 and
NTFS partitions in Disk Management.
Step 6
After creating a FAT32 file system on a partition, you can convert it to
the NTFS file system.
In the Type here to search text box, type the following command:
cmd
Step 7
The Administrator: Command Prompt window is displayed.
convert d: /FS:NTFS
Press Enter.
Alert: You can convert a FAT32 file system to NTFS file system,
but you cannot reverse it. You will need to format the partition.
Step 8
You will be prompted to enter the volume label.
PLAB
Step 9
Restore the Disk Management window. The D drive displays NTFS
instead of FAT32.
Step 1
Connect to PLABDC01.
Step 2
The Server Manager window is displayed. Click the Add roles and
features link.
Step 3
The Add Roles and Features Wizard is displayed.
Step 4
On the Select installation type page, keep the default selection and
click Next.
Step 5
On the Select destination server page, keep the default selection
and click Next.
Step 6
On the Select server roles page, expand File and Storage
Services and then expand Files and iSCSI Services. Select Server
for NFS.
Step 7
The Add Roles and Features Wizard dialog box is displayed.
Step 8
On the Select server roles page, notice that Server for NFS is now
selected. Click Next.
Step 9
On the Select features page, click Next.
Step 10
On the Confirm installation selections page, click Install.
Step 11
On the Installation progress page, the feature installation progress
is displayed.
Figure 2.20 Screenshot of PLABDC01: Showing the
installation on the Installation progress page.
Step 12
On the Installation progress page, after the installation is
completed, click Close.
Step 13
You are back on the Server Manager window.
Click the File and Storage services link in the left pane.
Step 14
From the sliding menu, Click Shares.
Step 15
Click the TASKS drop-down menu and then select New Share.
Step 16
The New Share Wizard is displayed. Select SMB share - Quick in
the File share profile list box.
Step 17
On the Select the server and path for this share page, in the
Select by volume section, select E:.
Click Next.
Figure 2.26 Screenshot of PLABDC01: Selecting the E drive
on the Select the server and path for this share page.
Step 18
On the Specify share name page, type the following in the Share
name text box:
Newshare
Click Next.
Step 19
On the Configure share settings page, select Enable access-
based enumeration.
Click Next.
Click Next.
Step 21
On the Confirm selections page, click Create.
Step 22
On the View results page, click Close.
Step 23
You are back on the Server Manager.
Notice that a new share with the name Newshare has been created.
Step 24
Let’s now connect to the NFS share from PLABWIN10.
From the left pane, right-click This PC and select Map network
drive from the context menu.
Step 25
The Map Network Drive dialog box is displayed.
\\plabdc01\Newshare
Click Finish.
Step 26
A new File Explorer window is displayed. You have successfully
connected with the SMB share.
A swap partition is a part of the hard disk space. This space is used as
an extension of the RAM in a computer system. The swap partition is a
way to overcome RAM limitations of your system. When applications
demand memory, and there is no physical memory available, then the
swap partition is used. The swap partition works like additional
memory in the system. However, it is important to note that a swap
partition is NOT the replacement for physical memory. The most
recently used files are in the RAM, and the least recently used files are
kept in the swap partition. When a new file is to be swapped into the
RAM, the least recently used file is swapped out of it and moved to the
swap partition.
A swap partition is created on the hard drive, and therefore, it can
increase the wear and tear of the hard drive.
Step 1
Connect with PLABCENTOS.
Step 2
The terminal window is displayed. Type the following command:
su -
Press Enter.
Passw0rd
Press Enter.
Step 3
Clear the screen by entering the following command:
clear
swapon -s
Press Enter. Notice that CentOS has a 2147 MB of the swap partition.
Windows does not contain a swap partition, but it contains a swap file,
which is known as pagefile.sys. It serves the same purpose as the swap
partition. You can store the pagefile.sys in its default location, create a
new partition and store the pagefile.sys there, or configure the
pagefile.sys to be stored on all partitions.
To view the swap partition in Windows 10, perform the following steps:
Step 1
Connect to PLABWIN10. In the Type here to search text box, type the
following command:
Control Panel
Step 2
The Control Panel window is displayed. Select System and
Security.
Step 3
Click System from the System and Security window.
Step 4
The System window is displayed. In the left pane, click the Advanced
system settings link.
Step 5
The System Properties dialog box is displayed. On the Advanced
tab, click Settings in the Performance section.
Step 6
The Performance Options dialog box is displayed. Click the
Advanced tab, and then click Change in the Virtual memory
section.
Notice that the total paging file size is displayed in the Virtual
memory section.
Notice that Automatically manage paging file size for all drives
is selected by default. When this option is selected, there is no manual
intervention required to set the paging file size. Windows, depending
on the RAM installed, configures the size of the pagefile.sys file.
If you deselect this option, then you should select the Custom size
and set the pagefile size on a single partition or multiple
partitions/hard drives.
Review
Well done, you have completed the Disk Partitioning Methods and
File Systems Practice Lab.
Summary
You completed the following exercises:
Feedback