by The Executive Software Team

 When Diskeeper for Windows NT was first released, its Graphical User Interface (GUI) provided a first-ever window on disk fragmentation and created a stir in the IT market. Before then, there was no way one could analyze fragmentation levels on their systems. As strange as it seems now, some people even argued that NTFS didn't fragment at all. Without a way to measure file contiguity, the IT professional had no easily seen evidence of fragmentation. Showing a relationship between fragmentation and declining system performance was difficult outside of a test lab.

 With the release of Smart Scheduling in Diskeeper 6.0, another first-ever window has opened on disk fragmentation and it's been changing IT perceptions about the dynamics of fragmentation on a system ever since. Now that Smart Scheduling has been in wide use for nearly a year, previous estimates about how often defragmentation is needed have been completely revised. We'll get back to this in just a minute.

First, what exactly is Smart Scheduling?

Smart Scheduling is the very latest evolution of the "Set It and Forget It" (r) design philosophy. It is an additional feature that enables Diskeeper to monitor a disk's rate of file fragmentation and then dynamically set a defrag run frequency specifically tailored to that disk's needs. Using Smart Scheduling is like hiring an employee to continually monitor and analyze each of your disks and set the exact defragmentation schedule needed to maintain that disk's maximum performance. This "needs-based scheduling" makes all "fixed scheduling" solutions obsolete because it uses less resources while keeping performance more consistently maximized. Typically, disk work loads fluctuate. Fixed schedules will often under or over defragment the disk and waste system resources.

It is important to note that although Smart Scheduling is optional and exclusion periods can be set, Diskeeper 6.0 is so fast and resource light that Smart Scheduling can be run unobtrusively at any time of day. Resource hog defragmenters like the "built-in" manual ones are, thankfully, obsolete.

When you run Smart Scheduling on your servers and workstations and check the event viewers, a new window on fragmentation appears--one that will surprise you. All disk traffic varies and it is impossible to make a sweeping statement about the "typical disk" but on a moderately high traffic server we've seen Smart Scheduling set run times to every four hours, then, when traffic on that same server lessened, back off to every 8 hours. Imagine the performance loss if it had been running on a fixed schedule of only once a week. And of course a manual defragmenter would have been unthinkable!

To summarize, Smart Scheduling is important for the following reasons:

• Opens a window on each disk's rate of fragmentation that was previously unavailable.
• Uses the exact resources needed to keep disks defragmented--no waste.
• Maintains peak system performance intelligently and unobtrusively.
• Is like an extra employee who's job it is to constantly analyze fragmentation on each disk.
• "Knows" how relentless fragmentation is and continually adjusts resources to handle.
• Makes "fixed scheduling" solutions that waste system resources completely obsolete.
• Shows that manual "built-in" defragmenters could never hope to handle fragmentation levels.
  
  
  

If you do not have Diskeeper deployed site-wide, please give us a call now. We have volume licensing discounts and maintenance contracts available to fit your budget. A trained consultant will work out exactly how you can get the full benefits of a whole network solution and still stay within your budget. See our contact information at the bottom of this eLetter.

CONTACT AUTHOR

You can buy Diskeeper now here: http://www.diskeeper.com/purchase/online-store.asp European and UK customers go here: www.execsoft.co.uk/downloads/dl.htm If you already own Diskeeper 6.0 you can download the Diskeeper 6.0 Second Edition update free at: http://www.diskeeper.com/downloads/menu.asp

For further information on Diskeeper:

The IDC whitepaper, "Disk Defragmentation for Windows NT/2000, Hidden Gold for the Enterprise" is available from: www.execsoft.com/diskeeper/IDC-White-Paper.pdf

NSTL White Papers on Performance vs. Fragmentation are available from: www.execsoft.com/whats-new/benchmarks.asp

The Microsoft TechNet article, "Maintaining Windows 2000 Peak Performance Through Defragmentation", can be found at: www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/administration/fileandprint/defrag.as

@Macarlo, Inc.
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