Oct 04, 2024 11:16:00

Windows 11 24H2 improves large file copy speed by up to 94%

The

ReFS file system, which has been used for a long time in Windows Server, and its block replication feature have been introduced to Windows 11 in the 24H2 update, and we have found that this will dramatically improve the file copy speed of the Dev Drive . For 1MB files, this is an 18% improvement, from 11 ms to 9 ms, while for 1GB files, this is a 94% improvement, from 681 ms to 38 ms.

Windows 11 2024 Update promises faster file copying, thanks to ReFS
https://www.windowslatest.com/2024/10/02/windows-11-2024-update-promises-faster-file-copying-thanks-to-refs/

Windows 11 2024 update boosts file copying by up to 94% — ReFS and Block Cloning transition from Windows Server to mainstream Windows | Tom's Hardware
https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/one-of-the-best-features-coming-with-the-windows-2024-update-is-block-cloning-a-former-windows-server-refs-exclusive

Unlock a new era of innovation with Windows Copilot Runtime and Copilot+ PCs - Windows Developer Blog
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2024/05/21/unlock-a-new-era-of-innovation-with-windows-copilot-runtime-and-copilot-pcs/

ReFS (Resilient File System) is a file system that first appeared in Windows Server 2012. It is characterized by the inclusion of many features that increase availability and reliability compared to conventional file systems such as NTFS. However, it cannot be used as a boot volume or system volume, and is not a replacement for NTFS.

The 'File Replication' feature of ReFS, available from Windows Server 2016, is a function that creates a pointer to the original data when duplicating data on the same disk, rather than creating a physical copy of the original data. This significantly reduces the time it takes to copy files.

Microsoft announced the Dev Drive feature in 2023 to improve developer productivity on Windows 11, and has been focusing on performance improvements ever since. Now, with the introduction of ReFS and file replication to the Dev Drive in Windows 11 24H2, copying operations will become almost instantaneous.

The following examples show different file sizes, and show that for large files, copying speeds can be improved by more than 90% compared to previous models.

	Traditional (NTFS)	After the introduction of 24H2	Improvement rate
10GB file	7 seconds, 964 milliseconds	641 milliseconds	92%
1GB file	681 milliseconds	38 ms	94%
1MB file	11 ms	9 milliseconds	18%
18GB folder (5815 files)	30 seconds, 867 milliseconds	6 seconds, 306 milliseconds	80%