With the public beta release of Windows Server 8, Microsoft introduced an implementation of its Resiliant File System (ReFS). This page links to ReFS resources that include Microsoft documentation, forensic images of ReFS volumes, and disk structures. Please join me in reversing the on-disk layout of ReFS.
- Building the Next Generation File System for Windows by Surendra Verma - The initial description of ReFS and explanations of its design decisions.
- Application Compatibility with ReFS - “Provides an introduction to ReFS and an overview of changes that are relevant to developers”.
- File Directory Volume Support - The File Directory Volume Support spreadsheet documents ReFS support for existing file system APIs.
- ReFS @ Storage Developers Conference 2012 - The ReFS presentation at the 2012 Storage Developers Conference describes the architecture of the ReFS file system from a developer’s perspective.
I’ve created and hosted a set of eight forensic images of a ReFS volume acquired after common file system activity. You can review their details and download the images here.
Based on data gleaned from the sample images referenced in the previous section, the file system may use structures described here. A pseudo-C/010 Editor template formats each structure in this section. Of course, the contents of this section are subject to change pending additional research.
This section describes structures that the ReFS.sys driver uses in memory to manipulate a ReFS file system. Its worth to explore these structures as they may be reused on disk. Of course, they could also be of interest to a forensic investigator with a memory image of a Server 2012 system.
Here is a list of terms that you should be familiar with (or help develop) as you get familiar with ReFS internals:
- Minstore: A storage engine that underlies the ReFS filesystem.
- AoW: “Allocate on Write”. Write a new block with updated content rather than updating in place, metadata changes flow upstream to root.
- Fsd: File System Driver
- Fcb: File Control Block.
- Scb: Stream Control Block??? Associated with snapshotting.
- Lcb: ???
- Vcb: Volume Control Block.
- Stream: Data stored within Minstore. Has “Runs” and “Extents”.
- Run: ??? how is this different from Extent?
- Extent: ??? how is this different from Run?
- Lcns: Term used by allocators in the place of “addresses”, perhaps Logical Cluster NumberS
- Region: Term used by allocators, can be created and deleted. Defined by “struct RANGE”
- Volume: Term used by Cms, seems to be manager for an entire database? see CmsAllocator::DeleteRegion. Has a “Superblock”.
- Pinning: Seems to be used in place of “locking” a row in a Minstore table.
- Container: Looks like something that implements the storing of data for Minstore. There are CmsCowRootContainers, CmsEmbeddedContainers, CmsPoolContainers, etc.