File Allocation Table definition
File allocation table (also known as FAT) is a file system developed for hard drives by Microsoft. Operating systems use it to manage hard drive files. The FAT system uses a table to track the clusters on a storage volume and how those clusters link together through associated directories and files. The table plays a vital role in file storage and allocation. The acronym (FAT) refers to the file system but can sometimes refer to the table itself.
How FAT systems work
- The FAT system creates an index table of the files stored on the device or in the system.
- The index table contains an entry for each data cluster (data storage area).
- The entries contain the number of the next cluster, a marker indicating EOF (end of file), unused disk space, or other specially reserved areas in the drive.
- The operating system (OS) looks up the cluster number of each successive part of the file until it reaches the end of it.
Technical details
- File allocation tables are typically located on a disk's first sector (disk sector 0).
- There are three major variants of file allocation tables: FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32.
- FAT supports volume sizes of up to 4GB.
- File allocation tables don’t provide any file system security.
Where FAT systems are used
- USB memory sticks
- Memory cards
- Digital cameras
- Portable devices
