October 27, 2011
To Defrag or Not to Defrag: That is The (Server) Question
Defragmentation is one of the few things that can make a web master absolutely shake in his boots—or house slippers, either or. There’s no bigger pain in the entire industry, but considering optimizing hard drive space is the only effective way to speed up and increase storage, it’s an absolute necessity. Thankfully, times aren’t nearly as bad as they used to be. Gone are the days of ancient Windows-based computers that mangle bytes like Jack the Ripper. In fact, technology has advanced so much that the need for a full defragmentation is now somewhat suspect. If you’re at all confused about when it’s the appropriate time to clean-up your hard drive, you’re in the right place. We’ve got some comprehensive thoughts and tips no the subject ready to go just below the break:
1. Know Your System: First off, your system may only need a defragmentation if it’s of a specific type. For example, a lot of Linux distributions and free BSD variants have progressed so much that they now make much more efficient use of free space than in the good old days. If you’re using a freeware Linux platform, or even a commercial Unix variant, odds are you won’t have to ever defrag your server. This is because modern kernels make use of an Ext3 or Ext4 file management system. These platforms do an incredibly efficient job managing open space, and are much less likely to leave behind some fragments. Even better, these filesystems are much better at dealing with holes where they exist. If you’re using one of the aforementioned extensions, odds are your server will not suffer any unexpected performance decreases due to fragments: And we mean ever. If your server is acting funny under these conditions, your real problem likely lies elsewhere.
2. Weigh the Pros and Cons: If you’re using a Windows server, you will eventually need to defragment your hard drive. Will you need to do this often? Very unlikely, as even Windows has improved its file management to a truly impressive level. However, even a Linux server can become buggy after several years of non-stop use, making a defrag only a good idea at the end of a long service period. Even then, though, you’ll need to leverage the necessary downtime with the performance gains before notifying customers and going ahead with the defragmentation.
Categories: General |
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