| In today’s computing environment, uptime is a | | | | store the pieces of each file close together and |
| critical factor. This is because information technology | | | | contiguously. It also attempts to create larger regions |
| has slowly crept up from the supporting position it | | | | of free space using compaction to impede the return |
| had years back—suddenly we look up and IT is | | | | of fragmentation. Some defragmenters also try to |
| not merely enhancing business operations, it in itself | | | | keep smaller files within a single directory together, |
| has become business operations. When a customer is | | | | as they are often accessed in sequence. |
| placing an order, it is directly or nearly directly with a | | | | Jim Bernal, Senior Network Engineer with Howe |
| computer. When a shipment is received by a | | | | Barnes Hoefer & Arnett in Chicago, Illinois, found out |
| customer, the receiving signature is scanned and | | | | just how bad it can get. “We constantly had |
| receipt is immediately confirmed through a computer. | | | | servers running slowly and getting really fragmented |
| Messaging, quotes, accounting, | | | | from constant file access and over time file access |
| inventory—they’re all done straight through | | | | would almost halt or take minutes to access a |
| automated systems that cannot afford downtime. | | | | file,” Bernal said. “We also had problems with |
| Now that so many servers are “front and | | | | users logging in with domain controllers sometimes |
| center” and must run 24X7, time to perform | | | | rejecting users because of timeouts in communicating |
| tasks such as anti-virus, backups and defrag has | | | | with our DNS servers.” |
| become incredibly scarce. So scarce, in fact, that | | | | Like many sites today, Bernal’s company was |
| some sites put off defrag until performance is | | | | running the whole gamut of services and applications, |
| absolutely intolerable and the only choice is to bring a | | | | including Microsoft Exchange, SQL, fileservers, domain |
| system down and run a manual or scheduled | | | | controllers, print servers, Terminal Services, Live |
| defragmentation. | | | | Communications servers, accounting software, |
| | | | | SharePoint and Virtual Services servers for |
| Disk fragmentation occurs when a file is broken up | | | | virtualization. |
| into pieces to fit on the disk. Because files are | | | | But also like many sites, Bernal’s fortunately |
| constantly being written, deleted and resized, | | | | discovered Disk Defragmentation. Only a high quality |
| fragmentation is a natural occurrence. When a file is | | | | disk defragmenter utilizes only otherwise-idle system |
| spread out over several locations, it takes longer to | | | | resources, so defrag takes place whenever and |
| read and write. But the effects of fragmentation are | | | | wherever possible. There is never a negative |
| far more widespread: Slow performance, long | | | | performance hit from defragmentation, and no |
| boot-times, random crashes and freeze-ups — | | | | scheduling is ever required. Performance is always |
| even a complete inability to boot up at all. Many users | | | | maximized, so systems can remain up and running. |
| blame these problems on the operating systems, | | | | Today, taking your systems down is the same as |
| when disk fragmentation is often the real culprit. | | | | taking part of your business down. Therefore it is |
| | | | | always well said that its better to take care of your |
| In the context of administering computer systems, | | | | servers & systems before the problem becomes |
| defragmentation is a process that reduces the | | | | incurable. So go ahead & download your copy of a |
| amount of fragmentation in file systems. It does this | | | | free Disk Defragmentation Software. |
| by physically reorganizing the contents of the disk to | | | | |