key differentiators between perfectdisk and windows 7 · 7 key differentiators perfectdisk and...

The Key Differentiators BetweenPerfectDisk and the Windows 7

Disk Defragmenter

September 2009

Raxco Software White Paper

©Copyright 2009 Raxco Software, Inc.All Rights Reserved

2 Key Differentiators PerfectDisk and Windows 7

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Centralized Management and Control 4

Administrative Rights 6

Automating Defragmentation-FlexibleUnattended Operation 6

• Screen Saver Mode 7• StealthPatrol™ 7• Defined Date/Time 7

Detailed Fragmentation Information 8

Single Pass Defragmentation 9

Total Free Space Consolidation 9

SMARTPlacement™ Optimization Strategy 10

Free Space Requirement 11

Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)Capability Mode 11

File/Folder Exclusion 12

Directory Consolidation 12

Space Management 12

NTFS Metadata 13

Designed for Disks of Several Terabytes 14

Page File/Hibernate File Defragmentation 14

Selected Files Defrag 15

Consolidate Free Space Defrag 15



PerfectDisk GUI-less Installation andDeployment 15

User-Defined Thresholds andMinimum Periods 16

Summary 16

Appendix 17Test Case Benchmark Results 17System Setup 17Base Score Results(No defragmentation performed) 17Windows 7 Disk Defragmenter Results 19PerfectDisk 10 Results 21Observations from Results 22



To assert that “alldefragmenters are the same” isa gross oversimplification ofthe issues surrounding diskdefragmentation.

IntroductionThis paper provides an overview of the differences betweenPerfectDisk® and the Windows® 7 defragmenter based on keyareas of functionality and defragmentation methods. The processof comparing two utilities that perform a similar function (i.e.disk defragmentation) is not necessarily a case of comparing“apples to apples,” as the two utilities’ philosophies andstrategies, and most importantly results, differ substantially.

To assert that “all defragmenters are the same” is a grossoversimplification of the issues surrounding diskdefragmentation. Sure, data files need to be defragmented; butequally important is the treatment of the remaining free space.System files and metadata files that can’t be moved online arealso significant since their location will affect data filedefragmentation. Disk optimizing file placement strategies canalso make a difference in overall performance.

Lastly, there are issues surrounding the management and use ofenterprise defragmentation. What is the best way to proactivelydefragment hundreds or thousands of machines sofragmentation doesn’t become a productivity drain or a technicalissue?

The goal of this paper is to discuss these key areas offunctionality and compare the named products and theirapproaches to the problem. Users can reference this paper forguidance in their own product evaluations.

Centralized Management and ControlEnterprise management of PerfectDisk is provided by a robustenterprise console. The PerfectDisk Enterprise Console can beused to install, deploy, configure, patch, schedule, manage, andreport. Other capabilities include:

• A digital dashboard that provides a visual overview offragmentation issues in your enterprise

• The ability to create custom computer groups for easymanagement

• The ability to import groups from Active Directory®

• Automatic synchronization with changes madethrough Active Directory

• 11 user-configurable reports including warnings andalerts with email notifications

• Remote control via an automatically generated hotlinkto remote PerfectDisk Clients

• Integrated management tools such as RemoteDesktop and Remote Event Viewer controls

• Network wide access to drive statistics for reports thattrack trends and system configurations



The warnings and alertssystem provided by thePerfectDisk EnterpriseConsole allows IT staff toaddress problems before theybecome serious issues.

• Manage PerfectDisk clients across multiple domains• Make configuration changes for any combination of

groups or individual clients using easy to followwizards

• Set defragmentation schedules and settings, includingautomatic defragmentation, to any combination ofgroups or individual computers with easy to followwizards

• Pre-configure clients prior to deployment• All the features listed in this document, can be

centrally managed on any combination of clients.• Once configured, provides automated management

and reporting.• Scripting via Windows Script and WMI for additional

management/administration flexibility.

PerfectDisk can also be deployed and configured using ActiveDirectory Group Policy Administrative Templates. As a newcomputer is added to an OU, PerfectDisk can be automaticallyinstalled and configured. Using GPO, you can also control whichusers have access to specific PerfectDisk features and evenassign/enforce licensing on a group by group basis.

The warnings and alerts system provided by the PerfectDiskEnterprise Console allows IT staff to become aware of issues andto deal with them without interrupting user productivity.Problems can be addressed before they become serious issuesthat impact user productivity and create additional workloads foreveryone from users to Help Desk and Senior IT staff members.

Why is this important?

The Windows 7 defragmenter provides no mechanism forenterprise management and control. This forces IT staff tomanually configure the Windows 7 defragmenter on a machineby machine basis. No reporting is provided, so your IT staff willbe completely unaware of either the quality of the job beingdone, or whether tasks are even executing as planned.

Using the Windows 7 defrag also introduces internal costoverhead for IT man hours. Making even simple configurationchanges to any single or group of systems requires work on anindividual machine basis. In the event IT staff opts for the use ofscripting, man hours will be required to maintain and configurescripts. A configuration change to a single server or desktoprequires the pushing of a newly modified script with thepossibility of human error. This also means changes made arenot immediately available in real time and are reliant on triggerslike user logons.

For example, if an IT staffer is tasked to change thedefragmentation on a user’s computer from Wednesdays to



Tuesdays, the staff member has to physically travel to the user’sdesk and interrupt the user to make the necessary change. Ifthe user is not a local administrator, the IT staffer will have towait until the user can afford down time so the user can belogged off.

In the event the user turns his or her machine off, the task willnever run. With PerfectDisk, the task can be set to execute atthe next system power on, automatically reschedule itself, or torun automatically when either the system is idle, or when theuser is away. (Screen Saver)

The Windows 7 defragmenter offers no integration with ActiveDirectory in any form. Since no reporting is provided with theWindows built-in solution, users are likely to report issues to thehelpdesk on a reactive basis.

Administrative RightsPerfectDisk does not require that end users have Administrativerights in order to run.


The Windows 7 defragmenter requires Administrative rights inorder to run. In most corporate environments, end users are notgiven Administrative rights. This essentially renders theWindows 7 Disk Defragmenter useless to users in manyenvironments.

Automating Defragmentation-FlexibleUnattended OperationThrough AutoPilot Scheduling™, PerfectDisk provides maximumflexibility and control so defragmentation occurs on your terms.Users can combine the use of dynamically defined andautomatically run tasks such as:

• One Time defragmentation• Revolving every X days• Revolving on specific days, weeks• Automatically, by Idle resources (CPU and Disk I/O)• Automatically, by user activity (Screensaver).

Tasks can also be offset X number of days or weeks and multipletasks can be created for specific disks using specific strategies.

In addition, PerfectDisk uses task prioritization to allow multiplestrategies to be applied on a disk by disk basis. Of equalimportance, PerfectDisk allows the specification of Maximum RunDurations so that a task can be set to run within yourpredetermined maintenance windows.

PerfectDisk does notrequire that end users haveAdministrative rights inorder to run.



When enabled, automaticdefragmentation allowsPerfectDisk to maintain orimprove system performanceand user productivitythroughout the day as needed.

• Screen Saver ModeMany companies enforce as a matter of security policy that if auser steps away from their computer for a period of time, thelocked Windows Screen Saver is activated.

PerfectDisk’s screen saver mode can ensure that the system isdefragmented when the Windows Screen screensaver is on -stopping when the user resumes keyboard/mouse activity.

• StealthPatrol™PerfectDisk’s StealthPatrol can defragment the system when thecomputer is idle and includes the ability to avoid running whenspecific applications are running.

Both Screen Saver and StealthPatrol intelligently defragmentonly when it is necessary – automatically detecting when thedrive was last defragmented and only running again if a certainnumber of days have passed.

When enabled, automatic defragmentation using StealthPatrol orScreen Saver allows PerfectDisk to maintain or improve systemperformance and user productivity throughout the day asneeded, rather than on a less than optimal and rigid schedule.In this way, PerfectDisk takes advantage of even user lunchbreaks to improve system performance and user productivity.

• Defined Date/TimePerfectDisk can also defragment according to a defined schedule- daily (one or more days per week) and weekly (including bi-weekly and monthly). PerfectDisk provides the ability to controlaccess to CPU and disk resources to minimize the impact ofdefragmentation or to ensure that sufficient resources areavailable to defragment. In addition, the ability to configure amaximum duration for a defined schedule ensures thatPerfectDisk completes running during a maintenance window.

The Windows 7 defragmenter does not have robust and flexiblebackground processing options. It can be run manually(assuming Administrator rights - not typically granted to endusers) or via limited scheduling and doesn’t allow you theflexibility to control access to CPU or disk resources TheWindows 7 defragmenter is “scheduled” using Windows TaskScheduler and the command line interface to the built-indefragmenter. There isn’t an easy way to centrally manageWindows Task Scheduler tasks. The Windows 7 defragmenterhas no ability to defragment only when the Windows screensaver is active. While the Windows 7 built-in defragmentercomes automatically scheduled to run every Wednesday at1:00am, this may not ensure that defragmentation actuallyoccurs or occurs in a timely fashion.




With restrictive background defragmentation options and nocentral management of the Windows 7 defragmenter,implementing an optimal un-attended defragmentation solutionusing the Windows 7 defragmenter is not only difficult, it is alsoa time-consuming and IT resource wasting process.

The Windows 7 defragmenter is not well suited to automaticdefragmentation. It has limited ability to monitor availablesystem resources and is not easily capable of intelligentlyrunning during times of opportunity. This limits its effectivenessas a means to improve or maintain performance levels, but alsomeans servers, workstations and users will only see performancebenefits immediately following maintenance windows as opposedto throughout the work day when needed.

Detailed Fragmentation InformationPerfectDisk at the client level provides detailed information onhow fragmented the drive is, which files are heavily fragmented,etc. The PerfectDisk Enterprise Console uses this information toproactively alert helpdesk/IT staff to any fragmentation relatedissues in your environment.

The Windows 7 defragmenter doesn’t provide detailedfragmentation information in a form that is readily accessible toadministrators. Detailed fragmentation information is onlyavailable via the command line interface and it isn’t reportedback to a central location.



As the Gartner report states,fragmented free spaceaccelerates new filefragmentation.


Without detailed fragmentation information, available locally aswell as centrally, IT staff are not able to quickly and easily tell ifdefragmentation is occurring as expected, or if configureddefragmentation methods are effectively addressingfragmentation issues in their network. With the Windows 7defragmenter, users are likely to report performance issues tothe helpdesk on a reactive basis instead of fragmentation issuesbeing automatically detected and appropriate staff notified for aproactive resolution.

Single Pass DefragmentationPerfectDisk employs a single-pass defragmentation enginedesigned to immediately address the issue of file and free spacefragmentation to provide the best possible drive performance.This means PerfectDisk will defragment 99-100% of all data filesand consolidate free space in one run regardless of the severityof fragmentation or the amount of free space.


The Windows 7 defragmenter is the same product forworkstation and server and it is a multi-pass defragmenter. Themulti-pass aspects of the Windows 7 defragmenter are evidentwhen disks are severely fragmented or have limited free space.Gartner Research published a report making this observationabout multi-pass defragmenters:

“The Windows built-in defragmentation tool is a multi-passdefragmenter that must be run over and over to defragment thedisk, especially when defragmenting very large disks with heavyfragmentation and limited free space. As such, multi-passdefragmenters characteristically fragment the remaining freespace on the disk, which accelerates fragmentation later. It isrecommended that a third-party single-pass serverdefragmentation tool be implemented instead.”

Total Free Space ConsolidationWith PerfectDisk’s advanced Space Restoration Technology™, inthe same single pass that PerfectDisk defragments files it alsoconsolidates the available free space on the drive into thelargest possible pieces, which improves drive write performance.As the Gartner report states, fragmented free space acceleratesnew file fragmentation. PerfectDisk provides statistics on freespace fragmentation so you can actually see PerfectDiskaddressing this vital drive performance issue.

While the Windows 7 defragmenter’s command line interface hasan option to force free space consolidation, this option is NOTspecified for the default schedule. In order to force free space



consolidation, the Windows 7 defrag schedule has to be modifiedto include this parameter.


Since the default behavior of the Windows 7 defragmenter is toNOT force free space consolidation any moderate amount of filewrite activity will result in new files being created in afragmented state – slowing down disk write speed and causingan immediate fragmentation issue for these new files. With nocentral management ability, it is a time consuming and resourceintensive process to configure the Windows 7 defragmenter toforce free space consolidation in its scheduled defragmentationpass.

SMARTPlacement™ Optimization StrategyPerfectDisk uses a patented file placement strategy based on filemodification activity. SMARTPlacement is part of PerfectDisk’ssingle-pass defrag process. This strategy groups files withsimilar modification patterns together.

• “Rarely modified” files (files that haven’t changed in Xdays) are grouped together, the next time PerfectDiskruns, it is very likely nothing in this file group haschanged. The files are already contiguous and wherethey are supposed to be, so on subsequent defragpasses PerfectDisk does not needlessly shuffle fileswasting time and resources.

• “Recently modified” files (created or changed in Xdays) are adjacent to the contiguous free space. Ifone of these files grows the fragment will be allocatedin one piece from the contiguous free space. This filecan be made contiguous with minimal shuffling ofclusters. As a result, fewer defrag passes are actuallyneeded and subsequent defrag passes take less time,CPU, and memory.



PerfectDisk’s patented SMARTPlacement file placementtechnology is the only proven and patented method to providethe absolute best in drive performance. SMARTPlacement isavailable in all PerfectDisk versions. With PerfectDisk, you don’thave to pay a premium price to get the best possible driveperformance.


The Windows 7 defragmenter has no file placement strategywhatsoever. Files are defragmented and placed randomly with noregard to type and/or usage pattern. No attempt is made toimprove the speed of subsequent defragmentation passes inorder to reduce resource impact, and no attempt is made toconsolidate free space for the best possible write performance.As a result, the Windows 7 defragmenter will never provide thesame level of performance and resource optimization asPerfectDisk.

Free Space RequirementAll defragmenters require some free space to defragment.PerfectDisk needs only a minimum of 1% available. This makessignificantly more disk space available for users.


Unless a volume has at least 15% free space, the Windows 7defragmenter is likely to fail to run, fail to complete, or take avery long time to complete. For every 100GB of disk space 15GBof free space needs to be available to defrag with the Windowstool.

Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) CapabilityModeOn Windows systems, defragmentation activity can result insnapshots/shadow copies being purged (Microsoft® KB article312067). If the drive is formatted with a 16k cluster size (ormultiple of 16k), then VSS can detect defrag activity andminimize the purging of snapshots/shadow copies. On VSSenabled drives where the cluster size is < 16k, to minimizesnapshot/shadow copies being purged you need to minimize theamount of file movement when defragmenting. By default,PerfectDisk addresses this issue with VSS compatibility modewith a configurable threshold.


The Windows 7 defragmenter has no VSS compatible modewhich means that if it is run on a VSS-enabled drive, snapshots/shadow copies may be completely purged.

All defragmenters require somefree space to defragment.PerfectDisk needs only aminimum of 1% available.

PerfectDisk’s patentedSMARTPlacement fileplacement technology is theonly proven and patentedmethod to provide the absolutebest in drive performance.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;312067

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;312067



File/Folder ExclusionPerfectDisk provides the ability to exclude files/folders fromdefragmentation. This may be important if whole driveencryption (WDE) software is installed as there may be certainfiles that should not be defragmented. In addition, PerfectDisksupports the following top encryption vendors:

• PC Guardian• PGP Whole Disk Encryption• BestCrypt• PointSec• SafeBoot / McAfee Total Endpoint Protection• SafeNet Protect Drive• Safeguard Easy• DESLock+• WinMagic

And because PerfectDisk allows File and Folder Exclusion, it canbe made to support any encryption solution or any otherapplication that would necessitate excluding files fromdefragmentation.


The Windows 7 defragmenter does not provide the ability toexclude files/folders, and as a result, can be directly responsiblefor the entire loss of an encrypted disk.

Directory ConsolidationPerfectDisk provides directory consolidation to further improvedrive performance.


Directory consolidation directly improves the speed at which anydisk scanning or analysis takes place. This includes everythingfrom user performed file searches to Anti-Virus scans. TheWindows 7 defragmenter does not perform any directoryconsolidation.

Space ManagementAs was indicated in the sections above, free space consolidationhas as much impact on overall disk performance as filedefragmentation. PerfectDisk provides several tools to identifyand recover additional free space. These include:

• Recycler - reclaims free space by removing temporary filesand emptying the Recycle Bin

Free space consolidation hasas much impact on overall diskperformance as filedefragmentation.

PerfectDisk provides theability to exclude files/foldersfrom defragmentation.



• Duplicates Finder - identifies duplicate text, video, picture,music or other files and provides a mechanism for theirdeletion

• Space Explorer - graphically displays which folders areusing the most disk space and provides “drill down”capability to identify candidates for deletion

• Space Reports - identifies files by their creation,modification, or access date over a specific time period ordate range; also identifies files by size or file type.

Why this is important?

To get the most from your disk drive and to attain peakperformance it is essential to keep obsolete or junk files fromcluttering the disk. Deleting these files frees up disk space whichcan be consolidated and reused, prolonging system life andperformance. Sorting through hundreds of folders is apainstaking and labor-intensive task that system administratorsjust don’t have time to perform.

The Windows 7 defragmenter offers no facility for identifyingfiles that may be candidates for deletion.

NTFS MetadataPerfectDisk defragments all of the NTFS metadata files. Theseare the files that define the file system to NTFS. You can see alist of these files in PerfectDisk by clicking on the Excluded Filestab in the Statistics windows that appears after a partitionanalysis. PerfectDisk defragments all of these during the systemfile (boot time) defrag.


The Windows 7 defragmenter does not defragment these filesand will not even report on the vast majority of them. Yet, Raxcohas seen countless situations where as little as 17% NTFSMetadata fragmentation, which includes the MFT and MFTReserve Zone, to trigger the following error from which the onlyrecoverable option is restoration from backup. As such, theWindows 7 Disk Defragmenter provides no protection fromfailures directly attributed to Metadata fragmentation.

STATUS_MFT_TOO_FRAGMENTED(Windows NT Status Code)

ERROR_DISK_TOO_FRAGMENTED(Win32 Error Code)302 (0x12E)

The volume is too fragmented tocomplete this operation.

PerfectDisk defragments all ofthe NTFS metadata files.



For more information on this error, see the following MSDN andMicrosoft support documentation on Windows Error Codes:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms681382%28VS.85%29.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc704588%28PROT.10%29.aspx

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/113996

Designed for Disks of Several TerabytesPerfectDisk was the first defragmenter to support large drives ofseveral terabytes that are now common. Available with alleditions of PerfectDisk (including Professional and Home),PerfectDisk is designed to defragment these large drives quicklywhile using minimal resources.

The Windows 7 defragmenter is designed for simple drives. It isnot designed to quickly or efficiently defragment large drives,drives containing a large number of files, severely fragmenteddrives, or drives that are low on free space. All PerfectDiskeditions support unlimited drive sizes. This means that evenPerfectDisk Professional and PerfectDisk Home will allow you todefragment multi-terabyte drives with millions of files and verylow free space.


Drive sizes are ever increasing and an efficient solution isneeded to optimize difficult volumes. To truly demonstrate thedifferences in capability between PerfectDisk and the Windows 7defragmenter, a conservative test case of just 100GB offragmented data was put together to compare the effectivenessof the Windows 7 Disk Defragmenter against PerfectDisk. Theresults can be reviewed at the end of this document.

Page File/Hibernate File DefragmentationThe PerfectDisk System File defrag will completely defrag thepage file and hibernate file as long as there is a minimum of 1%free space available on the partition.


Page File fragmentation directly impedes system performancesince it serves as an extension to the memory subsystem of theoperating system. As a result, Page File fragmentation iscommonly considered the most detrimental to overall systemand application performance.

PerfectDisk was the firstdefragmenter to support largedrives of several terabytes thatare now common.





http://support.microsoft.com/kb/113996



Hibernation File fragmentation directly impedes Hibernation andRestoration times for mobile and desktop machines that utilizeHibernation. It can also be responsible for hang ups or lock upsthat cause restorations to fail, resulting in loss of work.

The Windows 7 Defragmenter is not capable of processing eitherof these files.

Selected Files DefragPerfectDisk allows users to specify one or more individual files todefragment, rather than an entire drive. This is particularlyuseful for large files such as database files and multimediacontent.


The Windows 7 defragmenter has no selected file defragcapability. In a production environment, it is important to havethe flexibility to choose to process either a single or specificgroup of files for optimization. Specifically, older or legacysystems may not have suitable resource availability to processan entire disk. This level of flexibility allows users to address theissues on a drive selectively where the scalpel is preferable tothe sword.

Consolidate Free Space DefragPart of PerfectDisk’s Space Restoration Technology, this defragmethod creates the largest pieces of contiguous free spaceavailable. This is useful prior to creating large files or inperforming partition resizing operations. It is also useful prior tocompressing a virtual hard drive on a virtual machine, as alarger amount of disk space will be recaptured from the virtualhard drive.


The Windows 7 defragmenter has no specific capability for theconsolidation of free space. Though it does attempt toconsolidate free space, its effectiveness is not well demonstratedin benchmarks. Please review the test case at the end of thisdocument for details.

PerfectDisk GUI-less Installation andDeploymentPerfectDisk can be installed or deployed without a GUI presenton the target machine. This feature is made available for thoseinstallations exercising a “locked down”, secured environment.Only the administrator can schedule or initiate defragmentationvia the central management console or through Active Directory.

PerfectDisk allows users tospecify one or more individualfiles to defragment, rather thanan entire drive.




Securing the use and visibility of any flexible and powerful utilityis desirable for most organizations for a host of reasons,including but not limited to, ensuring the ignorance of a userbase as to the use of or even the existence of such a utility andits policies. The Windows 7 defragmenter does not offer thiscapability.

User-Defined Thresholds and Minimum PeriodsPerfectDisk has thresholds that skip a defragmentation pass iffragmentation does not exceed a user-specified percentage, thussaving system resources. Thresholds can be applied on apartition-by-partition basis.


This is a resource saving feature that prevents defragmentationfrom occurring needlessly, ensuring that resource consumptiontakes place only when needed. The Windows 7 defragmenterdoes not support fragmentation thresholds or minimum periodsof activity, thus it will run arbitrarily with no regard to the wasteof system resources, while creating needless wear on a physicaldisk.

SummaryPerfectDisk and the Windows 7 defragmenter vary greatly interms of available functionality, strategies and flexibility. Thegoal of this paper was to provide software evaluators with acomprehensive menu of functions from which they can select theones that are applicable to their environment. Small businesseswith a few computers have different needs from the largecorporate IT department looking to implement a proactiveenterprise defragmentation solution on thousands ofworkstations and servers.

This paper identifies the differences between the basicfunctionality provided with the operating system and what isavailable commercially. The paper is not a replacement foractual testing on systems that replicate the actual environmentwhere the software will be used. Testing and identification of theright features for your situation will provide the best informeddecision.

Copyright 2009, Raxco Software, Inc. All rights reserved.PerfectDisk, Space Restoration Technology, SMARTPlacement, StealthPatrol, and AutoPilotScheduling are trademarks or registered trademarks of Raxco Software, Inc. Microsoft,Windows and Active Directory are trademarks or registered trademarks of MicrosoftCorporation. All other trademarks or trade names are the property of their respective owners.

This paper identifies thedifferences between the basicfunctionality provided with theoperating system and what isavailable commercially.



Appendix

Test Case Benchmark Results

To truly demonstrate the differences in the technical enginecapability between PerfectDisk and the Windows 7 Defragmenter,a conservative test case of just 100GB of fragmented data wasput together to compare them.

The 100GB drive partition was imaged and restored to the samehardware configuration between tests and benchmarked withPerformanceTest® 7.0 from Passmark® (www.passmark.com) andthe results documented.

System SetupOS: Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit)Motherboard: AB9PRO (Intel965+ICH8)CPU: Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.40GHzRAM: 8.0GBTested Disk Manufacture: Seagate®

Tested Disk Model Number: ST31000340ASTested Disk Configuration: 3 Disk Stripe (RAID 0)

Base Score Results (No defragmentation performed)Average Disk – Sequential Read: 20.44 MB/sAverage Disk – Sequential Write: 31.80 MB/s



Windows 7 Disk Defragmenter Results

Average Disk – Sequential Read: 40.04 MB/sAverage Disk – Sequential Write: 49.78 MB/s



PerfectDisk 10 Results

Average Disk – Sequential Read: 258.11 MB/sAverage Disk – Sequential Write: 242.28 MB/s



Observations from Results

1) Despite the use of a fast 3 drive stripe (Raid 0), filefragmentation is capable of severely affecting thesequential read and write performance of a disk.While this is not the fastest of drive arrays possible, itdoes reasonably demonstrate the performance impactof disk fragmentation.

2) The Windows 7 Defragmenter does clearlydemonstrate an ability to improve over all diskperformance.

3) The Windows 7 Defragmenter is only so effectivebecause of its multi-pass strategy. Unfortunately,subsequent passes did NOT further improveperformance.

4) The Windows 7 Defragmenter did not provide the bestresults because it failed to effectively remove filefragments while simultaneously consolidating freespace. The key to solving the fragmentation issues onany drive is the consolidation of free space so that



defragmented files can be written out contiguously.Failure to effectively consolidate free space will alwaysresult in subpar performance for reading and writing.

5) PerfectDisk was able to restore the disk array to near100% performance in a single pass. The chartsprovided are a good visual aid that clearly show howfragmentation causes the read / write heads on a diskto thrash wildly. When fragmentation is effectivelyeliminated, average speeds will normalize withinstantaneous speeds. The graphs clearly show thatnear maximum read performance was achieved, andthat maximum write performance was not onlyreached, but limited only by the size and speed of thewrite buffer. This is visibly demonstrated in the squarewave like form of the graph.

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