Defragmenting NetWare
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Q:
Is it fact or fiction that Netware Drives/Volumes don't requiredefragmenting?I've read the theory which indicates that NetWare uses a queue-based datablock retrieval mechanism called "elevator seeking" that optimizes readsbased on the path the read head will travel. A fragmented file, then, shouldbe as quickly retrieved as one that isn't.My boss is convinced that defragmenting our Netware server hard drive will reveal a performance boost, but I've never heard of any commercial softwarethat does this on a NetWare drive.
A:
There are some varying views on this. The folks at Portlock Software haveproduced some white papers explaining their view which suggests that fragmentationcan be an issue with NetWare volumes (although less of one than for NT, DOS, orWindows).
Their defragment software product can be viewed here.
Price is around $200 for the defragmentation software.
However, bear in mind that many experts believe that is is unnecessary. If you do try it to satisfy your boss, please let us know if you saw any dramatic boost.
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