> > In a message dated 3/4/99 7:40:39 AM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > writes: > > > > The appear to be tools to `defrag' an ext2 > > > partition, but I never saw any convincing reasons for using them. They > > > may even be a risk to your data. > > > > I've tried the ext2 defrag program, and while it seems to work OK, I > > didn't see any noticable benefit from doing it, other than the fsck > > summary information looks better :-) > > > > So, defragging your disk isn't a normal Debian maintenance task? Is this true > for all you guys that have been running Debian "forever"?
Yes, defragging your disk is _not_ a normal Debian maintenance task. I have been running linux for some 3 three years now (started with Slackware) and never defragged a linux disk. The point is that the ext2 file system is, unlike fat or vfat, mostly `self-defragmenting'. This has to do with the way files are written and blocks are allocated. Situations where fragmentation on an ext2 file system becomes so bad that it yields a noticeable deterioration of performance are rare, I never heard of it. HTH, Eric -- E.L. Meijer ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) | tel. office +31 40 2472189 Eindhoven Univ. of Technology | tel. lab. +31 40 2475032 Lab. for Catalysis and Inorg. Chem. (TAK) | tel. fax +31 40 2455054
