Write Anywhere File Layout

<p>The Write Anywhere File Layout (WAFL) is a proprietary <a href="/facts/File_system/FdPm90uc">file system</a> that supports large, high-performance <a href="/facts/Redundant_array_of_independent_disks/IpzWWgog">RAID</a> arrays, quick restarts without lengthy consistency checks in the event of a <a href="/facts/Crash_(computing)/I8yn65yt">crash</a> or power failure, and growing the filesystems size quickly.  It was designed by <a href="/facts/NetApp/tmNFS1pG">NetApp</a> for use in its storage appliances like <a href="/facts/NetApp_FAS/6Te4WeYs">NetApp FAS, AFF</a>, <a href="/facts/ONTAP/JbvKD2Y8">Cloud Volumes ONTAP</a> and <a href="/facts/ONTAP/JbvKD2Y8">ONTAP Select</a>.
</p><p>Its author claims that WAFL is not a file system, although it includes one. It tracks changes similarly to <a href="/facts/Journaling_file_system/UCAaSBrD">journaling file systems</a> as logs (known as NVLOGs) in dedicated memory storage device <a href="/facts/Non-volatile_random_access_memory/CIYnqh4E">non-volatile random access memory</a>, referred to as NVRAM or NVMEM. WAFL provides mechanisms that enable a variety of file systems and technologies that want to access <a href="/facts/Block_(data_storage)/S3vT7c6N">disk blocks</a>.
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Write Anywhere File Layout open-in-new

Write Anywhere File Layout