Auto Defrag

VSS defrag -- more flexibility and control

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 by Joe Abusamra

Shadow Copy (also called Volume Snapshot Service or VSS) is a feature introduced with Windows Server 2003 and made available in Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. VSS allows taking manual or automatic backup copies or snapshots of a file or folder on a specific volume at a specific point in time. VSS is used by backup software providers, including System Restore in Windows 7 and Vista, and provides previous versions of files for Windows Server 2003/2008 and Windows 7/Vista.

When VSS is enabled on a drive, VSS may detect defrag activity as changes to the drive and attempt to replicate those changes (MS KB article 312067). Depending on the amount of data that VSS attempts to replicate, Shadow Copies/Restore Points may be purged or "dropped". This means that previous versions of files may no longer be available or Restore Points may be purged. If a VSS enabled drive has been formatted with a cluster size of 16K or larger (default cluster size is 4k), VSS has the ability to detect defragmentation activity and minimize replication - reducing (but possibly not eliminating) the number of Shadow Copies/Restore Points that may be purged.

Today, PerfectDisk can be configured to detect if VSS is enabled on a drive and to take appropriate action. By default, if VSS is configured on a drive and the cluster size is less than 16k, then PerfectDisk will defragment in VSS compatible mode. If VSS is configured on a drive and the cluster size is less than 16k, then PerfectDisk can also be configured to not defragment the VSS enabled drive at all or to defragment the VSS enabled drive normally.
If PerfectDisk is configured to Stop if any Shadow Copies exist, PerfectDisk will NOT defragment the drive at all.
If PerfectDisk is configured to perform normal defragmentation, it may result in Shadow Copies/Restore Points being purged as defragmentation is performed. When configured to defragment in VSS compatible mode and the drive cluster size is less than 16k, PerfectDisk limits the number of files "moved" during the defragmentation pass so that purging of Shadow Copies/Restore Points is minimized. For VSS enabled drives where the cluster size is 16K or larger, PerfectDisk defragments drives normally.
Note that when PerfectDisk defragments a drive in VSS compatibility mode, it may not defragment files/free space as completely as it normally does.

What was just described is current PerfectDisk behavior. But some users, particularly power users, may want more control over their VSS environment. Like the ability to specify a percentage threshold on a drive that limits how much of the drive will can be defragmented, to minimize the purging of Shadow Copies/Restore Points even more than is currently available.

As always, we're looking to put more into an auto defrag. For those that want to defrag a computer with more flexibility and control than a standard auto defrag can provide.

On a scale of 1 to 10, it's an 11. March 2010.

eWeek's 25 technologies that changed the decade -- plus defrag

Monday, February 22, 2010 by Joe Abusamra

eWeek Labs recently put together a list of the 25 Technologies That Changed the Decade, an interesting list of hardware, software, applications and more "that have changed the way we work, play and live" over the last 10 years. I guess since Windows defrag software has been around more than a decade, and defrag programs in general have been around for much more than that, the simple yet important task to defrag a computer was nowhere to be found (insert smirk here).

But I was interested to see how much defrag programs touched on many of the 25 technologies. While the expected flashy consumer products were on the list, including the iPhone, iPod and other smart phones, several back-end technologies that power our world of technology were also there, and disk defrag software played a role with those technologies. From multicore processors to netbooks to blade servers to virtualization to Windows XP, PerfectDisk is there to help these technologies work better. Whether it's a faster PC startup or the need to speed up PC performance or a server defrag to ensure a mission critical application runs fast and efficiently, auto defrag has played a role.

Regarding the 25th spot, it seemed a bit amusing to see Windows XP listed, since the flashier and well-received Windows 7 seems a more likely candidate. But as the article states, "Windows XP is certainly the most dominant operating system of the decade." I can see some merit in that selection.

You can read the entire article here and compare it with your Top 25.

Look beneath the surface, clean your PC, shrink your drive

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 by Joe Abusamra

Many PerfectDisk users install the program, set up an automated schedule or auto defrag to run in the background, and almost never think about defrag again. They've made their slow PC fix and achieved faster PC speed, effortlessly.

And then there are those, of which there are many, that like to watch the map viewer, with all it's color and information about file location and drive layout. And then there's another set of users - those who want to dig deeper into the map -- to get an understanding of what files are where on their drives.

But there's also another reason to look into the colorful blocks, even beyond fixing slow PC problems. For Vista and Windows 7 users, Windows ability to shrink drives can be very powerful. But it doesn't always work according to plan, according to the Microsoft text book.
In order to shrink a drive, it's very likely that you'll need to clean your PC, either through duplicate file removal or the removal of other unnecessary files. And then, with PerfectDisk's free space consolidation, you're in good shape to shrink the drive.

But you can't easily remove those files to shrink your drive if you don't know where they are. The perfect solution would be to click on a block to gain a better understanding of the files and their usage. Then again, you may want to click on the bit map to see what's where.

A new block viewer to dig deeper....and beyond the colors.

On a scale of 1 to 10, it's an 11. Coming March 2010.

Central management of defrag — easy does it

Thursday, January 14, 2010 by Joe Abusamra

The Greengate School is located in Huntsville, Alabama, educating and supporting bright children who have specific learning differences in reading, spelling or writing so that they may realize their full potential. With a dedicated teaching staff of 22, the school prides itself on superior attention to the needs of its student. You might think such a place is far from the PerfectDisk and disk defragmentation software worlds.

But the school has found that auto defrag is a boost to its desktops and server, which is used to manage user acccess to administrative, staff and student systems. Prior to using PerfectDisk on its server and PCs, defragmentation was performed using the Windows built-in defragger on an ad-hoc, as-necessary basis. The Greengate teachers use standard Office applications, as well as testing and assessment software, and shared applications that use proprietary databases.

Besides PerfectDisk’s optimization and free space consolidation, Greengate was drawn to PerfectDisk due to PerfectDisk’s central management and scheduling capabilities, all made easy through the PerfectDisk Enterprise Console. As John Allen, IT Volunteer at Greengate noted, “PerfectDisk’s central management and automation saves me an enormous amount of time every month. Defragmentation is now done much more thoroughly, but it’s also done completely automatically, meaning I barely have to think about it anymore.”

Auto defrag…and management….made easy.

Real world, real company -- Vigilante Security cuts costs and boosts productivity with defrag

Monday, January 11, 2010 by Joe Abusamra

Sometimes we get so far down in the weeds of our disk defrag utility that it's easy to lose sight of what can be gained from a top disk defragment program. Today I wanted to touch on the success achieved via PerfectDisk's auto defrag and console management system by Vigilante Security, a Michigan-based alarm system company serving the residential and large industrial markets that uses PerfectDisk for its disk defragmentation and storage optimization needs. Vigilante services over 60,000 subscribers in 43 states.

Vigilante Security maintains 17 servers, 15 laptops and over 50 workstations, with employees working on a range of applications from Microsoft Office to Vigilante Security’s own proprietary alarm monitoring system. There are also dedicated CAD workstations and several PCs dedicated to remote access of Alarm control systems. The company also provides central station monitoring to other alarm dealers throughout the industry. Vigilante performs server defrag as well as desktop and laptop defrags with PerfectDisk.

Ron Ross, president of Vigilante Security, had this to say: “The ROI for PerfectDisk was quickly established, as we’ve saved a huge amount of time using the PerfectDisk Enterprise Console to administer the entire disk management operation from one location. Manual defragmentation with the Windows built-in defragmenter took too much time and also resulted in lost employee productivity while employees waited for defrag completion. PerfectDisk Server and PerfectDisk Professional have eliminated all those wasted resources, and the Enterprise Console allows us to manage the entire process effortlessly.”

Behind all the noise, real benefits.

Construction has begun -- an update on the Washington DC Ronald McDonald House

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 by Joe Abusamra

Construction has begun!

A few years ago, Raxco Software began giving to the Ronald McDonald House of Washington, DC as our leading charity. As I’ve written about in the past, the Ronald McDonald House is part of the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). RMHC works to better the lives of children and their families around the world. The program began in 1974 based on a simple idea: provide a “home away from home” for families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. Since that time, more than 10 million families around the world have benefited from the comfort provided by a Ronald McDonald House.



RMHC and its global network of local chapters in 49 countries have awarded more than $440 million in grants and program services worldwide to make an immediate, positive impact on as many children as possible. The Ronald McDonald House of Washington, DC has housed over 15,800 families from all over the world since its formation in the early 1980s. These families have children with serious illnesses that are being treated in Washington-area hospitals.

A new house is being built in the Washington, DC area and PerfectDisk is helping to build it. We are happy to be able to share some of our success with what we believe to be a very worthy and global cause. The main wing of the building was built in 1912, and the costs of maintaining an old building over time far outweigh the one-time cost of constructing a new House. The original foundation has resulted in much water damage and other problems. The new house will provide new suites for families, play rooms and much more. The new house will also be green, with new, energy efficient systems to significantly reduce ongoing repair, maintenance and operating costs.

This new venture started over 2 years ago. After nearly 2 years of red tape and negotiations with the DC government, the Ronald McDonald House of Washington, DC is now starting! We received a letter earlier this month with this news from Debbie Wargo, Special Project Director of the DC RMHC. The builder is excited to begin (as we all are), and believes construction will be completed in the fall of 2010. Thousands of deserving families stand ready to reap the benefits.

Thanks to the entire worldwide PerfectDisk family of auto defrag users and employees for allowing us to help in this very worthwhile cause. Just one more reason all Windows defrag software is not alike.

Subway's $5 footlong -- the sandwich that ate the recession -- powered by PerfectDisk

Thursday, November 12, 2009 by Joe Abusamra

In the November 16th issue of Business Week, Matthew Boyle's feature article, The Accidental Hero, describes how Subway has thrived in the recession as nearly every other restaurant chain reeled. How is it doing it? The big surge got its boost from an obscure Subway franchisee in Miami, who started the $5 footlong concept on slow weekends and then watched business take off. The concept went national, and the rest is history, as Subway is now on track to surpass McDonald's in worldwide locations by early next year. McDonald's still has a big lead in revenue ($30 billion to Subway's $9.6 billion), but Subway has supplanted both Wendy's and Burger King in market share.

As usual, there's a lot that goes on in this multi-billion dollar business to make it all work. And in fact, as Business Week's article points out, there have been various logistical challenges in trying to meet the huge increase in demand. One thing that has not been a concern for Subway is its hard drive defragmentation. For years, Subway has relied on PerfectDisk to ensure its servers perform at maximum efficiency. At the time PerfectDisk was installed, free space consolidation and auto defrag capabilities were forefront in Subway's requirements. Now, PerfectDisk is just a standard part of its operating procedures.

See the entire Business Week article here.

$3.8 billion in sales of Subway's $5 footlong sandwiches in the last fiscal year. Simple concept, big return.

Just like Subway's server defrag software.

Defrag vSphere 4 intelligently for performance boost

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Joe Abusamra

With our recent announcement of support for vSphere 4, PerfectDisk now provides unparralled support for vSphere defrag. VMware has received a great deal of interest with this cloud operating system, as its battle with Microsoft's Hyper-V, Citrix' XenServer and others shows no sign of abating, but only intensifying. While auto defrag is a key element of any solution for a virtualization defrag tool, any defragmenter program that fails to address the unique complexities of a virtual environment will come up short.

Because vSphere 4 is able to manage large pools of virtualization computing infrastructure, including hardware and software, its overall performance is critical to organizations implementing it. This is one area where a defragmenter program can help. And with its ability to defrag seamlessly in a vSphere environment, providing the patent-pending Virtual Awareness defragmentation that eliminates resource contention and ensures efficient use of resource, PerfectDisk 10 vSphere ESX delivers.

Time to defrag VMware environments like you mean it...with true integration.

PerfectDisk 11 defrag -- on the horizon

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Joe Abusamra

September 30, 2009 - a fun day here at PerfectDisk headquarters -- the pre-Alpha code for PerfectDisk 11 was distributed internally here this morning. More auto defrag functionality without bloat. Backend and frontend improvements. Shinier and more intuitive, without a new learning curve required. Faster. More virtualization improvements. Desktops, laptops, production servers, Exchange servers and Windows Home Servers will benefit.

Okay, I'm biased. But your chance to see for yourselves is coming.

I know you're asking...if PerfectDisk 10 is so great, why an 11? Well, for the best defrag software, we felt "a little extra push" was needed...

And here it is.

11 is on its way -- stay tuned.