How to: Determine optimum cluster size.
Solution:
Record data files in small logical partitions and program files in large logical partitions. The larger the partition size (logical drive), the more space given to a file, no matter what the size of a file.
NOTE 1: A hard drive's cluster size is determined by the total size of the hard drive and the file management system.
For the file allocation table (FAT or FAT32) file system, there is 64K of clusters or allocation units available per logical drive partition. A logical drive will always have 64K of clusters. The cluster size for a logical drive is dependent on the total of the drive.
NOTE 2: The cluster size represents the effective smallest file size that can be stored on the logical drive. A file stored on a hard disk must use at least 1 cluster. Under FAT or FAT32, a file can have a larger effective size than its physical size, if the file is smaller than the cluster size of the drive it is stored on. Drives with large cluster sizes store files less efficiently than drives with smaller cluster sizes.
EXAMPLE: The effective size of a 2K file that is 2K stored on a logical drive with a cluster size of 16K, is 16K.
NOTE 3: To control drive storage efficiency, large hard drives should be divided into smaller logical drives. This can be accomplished using disk partition tools such as FDISK (included with Windows 95) or third party tools. Cluster sizes and the corresponding maximum drive sizes are listed below:
'FAT' size table
NOTE 4: FAT supports drives up to 2.0 GB. FAT32 supports drives up to 8.0 GB.
1) Determine how the hard disk space is going to be used.
NOTE: Make sure the drive is large enough for the installation of the operating system or application(s) that you intend to store on the drive. Some computer language compilers can require more than 800MB of storage space.
2) Divide a hard disk into the fewest partitions possible, based on cluster size.
NOTE 1: It is recommended that you do not divide hard disks less than 1.0GB in size. You should divide drives larger than 1.0 GB into two or more logical drives.
NOTE 2: When dividing a hard disk into logical drives, be mindful of the maximum drive size for cluster sizes. A poor use of hard disk space would be dividing a 2.0 GB drive into 1.6 GB and 400MB logical drives, because the 1.6GB logical drive would have the same cluster size (32K) as a single 2.0 GB drive. A better use of hard disk space would be dividing a 2.0 GB drive into either two 1.0 GB logical drives (16K cluster size) or four 512MB logical drives (8K cluster size).
