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From a high-level standpoint (meaning only worrying about the results and the interface, not the implementation), what is the difference in behavior, if any, between an NTFS reparse point that points to a directory and a symbolic link that points to the same directory?
Are they resolved at the same level in the stack, or is it possible for one to be unresolvable at a certain time when the other one can be resolved (e.g. at boot)?
(I'm aware that symbolic links can also work for files, but I'm asking about the directory difference here.)
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A junction point can only be a link to a local volume path. Symbolic links are a local and remote path. For example, a symbolic link can link to the network share \\hope\files. A junction point is designed for local directories, but a symbolic link can be used for directories, files, and shares.
Symbolic links allow you to access specific files or directories from your current location, which is similar to how we use desktop shortcuts.
There are three types of file links supported in the NTFS file system: hard links, junctions, and symbolic links.
A symbolic link, as created by Windows, is much similar to a directory junction, but unlike a directory junction it can point to a file or a remote network file or directory. The target may be defined as a path relative to the symbolic link position, or an absolute path in the current volume or another one.
It is known that in network symbolic links are resolved on clients, while junctions are resolved by server. One can suggest, that junctions are more "invisible" for users.
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