exFATfailisüsteemi

exFAT failisüsteemi, commonly known as exFAT, is a file system developed by Microsoft for flash memory devices. It was introduced in 2006 to overcome FAT32’s limitations, notably the 4 GB file size limit and restricted volume sizes. ExFAT is designed to be portable across devices such as USB drives and SDXC cards, while remaining efficient for large files and flash storage.

Technical characteristics include a FAT-based structure with 64-bit file sizes and volume sizes, enabling very large files and storage capacities in theory. It supports Unicode file names and offers fast metadata handling suitable for flash memory. Unlike some journaling file systems, exFAT does not implement full journaling, which keeps overhead low and performance strong on removable media.

Compatibility and licensing: exFAT is supported by modern Windows, macOS, and most Linux distributions (via official or community-provided drivers). Because it is patented technology owned by Microsoft, implementations may require licensing for certain uses, and open-source options exist under compatible terms.

Applications and limitations: exFAT is widely used for cross-platform portable storage, including SDXC and USB flash drives that must carry large files such as videos. It is not intended for mission-critical systems where strong data integrity is required, and it lacks built-in encryption or advanced filesystem features found in more robust systems. For many users, exFAT offers a practical balance between broad compatibility and the ability to store large files on removable media.