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"NTFS really isn't that bad" - Robert Collins (LCA 2020)

linux.conf.au · talk · Watch on YouTube

Software performance & optimizationOperating systems & kernelsC, C++, Rust, Go & systems languages

What it is

Robert Collins explains why rustup installs were painfully slow on Windows and how changes to rustup and Windows cut install time from 3m30s to 14s. The talk covers NTFS, small files and the cost of antivirus hooks on file close.

Why Hacker News recommends it

The go-to reference for why file operations are slow on Windows and how antivirus filters, not NTFS itself, are the cause.

  • 5 people recommended it
  • 3 different months
  • 0 strong recommendations
  • first 2020, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “Also take a look at this talk on NTFS, file system speed, and how the presenter optimized the Rust installer”

    Talk on NTFS speed and how the Rust installer was optimized.

    jmmv, 2022-09 · Recommendation · in “When to use Bazel?”

  2. “I want to take this opportunity to recommend the talk”

    Explains NTFS's preferred access patterns and Linux speed-ups.

    ablob, 2024-07 · Recommendation · in “Show HN: Dut – a fast Linux disk usage calculator”

  3. “This is a great talk on the topic”

    Talk on why NTFS seems slow.

    unchar1, 2024-07 · Recommendation · in “SQLite: 35% Faster Than the Filesystem”

  4. “Here's a talk on porting rustup to Windows”

    Porting rustup to Windows, cutting install from 3m30s to 14s.

    amiga386, 2024-07 · Recommendation · in “SQLite: 35% Faster Than the Filesystem”

  5. “There's a good talk on this at”

    Talk on optimizing for Windows file close costs.

    miki123211, 2025-01 · Recommendation · in “Wild – A fast linker for Linux”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: ntfs, rustup, antivirus, file io, performance

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