Data Recovery Digest

The issue of using basic or dynamic disks relates to data storage philosophies having to do with Microsoft Windows operating systems and related technologies. Basic and dynamic disk setups represent two basic choices in how to manipulate disk partitioning, and how to create specific volumes within a hardware setup.

Basic Versus Dynamic Disks and Similarities

Basic and dynamic disc setups are similar in some ways. Both can use Master Boot Record or MBR, or GPT partitions, and both can support the creation of partitions and logic drives. One difference, however, is that dynamic drives can accommodate an unlimited number of partitions, while basic drives can only support a specific number of partitions that must be set up in very specific ways.

Basic Versus Dynamic Disks and Volume Functionality

Basic and dynamic disks handle volumes of data differently. In a basic disk setup, volumes can be extended into on allocated spaces, but cannot be spread across non-contiguous regions of various disks. By contrast, dynamic disks support much different types of data storage structures, including spanned or striped volumes, where a data array is stored in precise ways in a combination of separate spaces. For example, using striped volumes, each disk destination is written to at the same rate. Dynamic disks can also support fault-tolerant systems for volumes, such as mirrored volumes or RAID-5 systems.

Basic Versus Dynamic Disks and the Hidden Database

Another big difference between basic disks and dynamic disks is that dynamic disks use a hidden database to map the creation or extension of volumes within the overall drive. This technology, which is supported only by Windows 2000 and other newer operating systems, supports the idea of more versatility for data storage as well as the ability to handle more than 2 TB of data in a single volume, something that basic drives do not generally support.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Some of the biggest advantages of dynamic disks are the ability to handle large amounts of data in one volume and, on the other hand, the ability to create an unknown number of partitions. However, many managers of data storage hardware systems point out that dynamic disks can be more trouble than they are worth in many different kinds of scenarios.
Some of the biggest downsides to dynamic disks have to do with very limited third party support. There is the idea that moving these disks to a new computer or adding different kinds of functionality can cause major issues. Some have also reported that dynamic disks may not always work as they are supposed to, where setting up new partitions can cause a variety of errors that can be hard to work out. In general, some experts have recommended that dynamic disk models are easier to use for large sequential reads of data sets, or where there are more reads and less frequent writing to a volume. In the end, choosing a basic or dynamic disk structure may have to do with the experience of the user and the specific need for volume functionality within a comprehensive data storage plan.