Linux Defragmenting?

[Joe Gronlund]

Is there a way to actually defrag a linux server, and do so via SSH?
I know you can optimize the MySQL tables, but i mean to actually defrag the drive on the server.
Is this possible to do??

[Scott MacVicar]

Linux servers dont need defragmenting, the file system used is actually better than NTFS / Fat32.

See http://geekblog.oneandoneis2.org/ind..._defragmenting

[Jerry]

The file system tends to take care of itself, they don't defrag in the same way as windows as they are self optimising a lot of the time. This is one of the areas where *nix rules.

What FS are you using ?

My two fav links for this question :

http://www.salmar.com/pipermail/wftl-lug/2002-March/000603.html

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?t=137586

[Joe Gronlund]

What FS are you using ?

Thanks for your speedy replies Scott and Jerry..

Wow, thats really cool to know.
I'm not really sure of the FS i am running lol, i am running RedHat Enterprise 3...

[Raz Meister]

If you're using ext2, there is a program called "defrag" as part of e2fsprogs. Also XFS provides xfs_fsr to defrag.

[Joe Gronlund]

If you're using ext2, there is a program called "defrag" as part of e2fsprogs. Also XFS provides xfs_fsr to defrag.

How do i find out what Filesystem i am using??
Thanks for your reply..

[Zachery]

Take a look at your /etc/fstab file, it should detail what file system each parition is.

[Joe Gronlund]

Thanks Zack, will do

[Joe Gronlund]

I think i am using ext3, can you tell by this??

LABEL=/                 /                       ext3    defaults,usrquota        1 1
LABEL=/boot             /boot                   ext3    defaults        1 2
none                    /dev/pts                devpts  gid=5,mode=620  0 0
none                    /proc                   proc    defaults        0 0
none                    /dev/shm                tmpfs   defaults        0 0
/dev/sda2               swap                    swap    defaults        0 0
/dev/cdrom              /mnt/cdrom              udf,iso9660 noauto,owner,kudzu,ro 0 0

[Zachery]

Yes you are.

[Raz Meister]

Unless you're using more than 80% of your partition, you shouldn't need to worry about fragmentation.

Also, an easier way to find the type of your root partition and the amount you're using is via "df -hT /"

[Chousho]

Speaking of which, are there any programs out there that can defrag better than the built in one? I haven't really looked, but I'd like some more info from it if I have to wait a good 4 hours.

I'm not sure if me having a 400 GB hdd makes a difference in time, so... haha

[Sergio68]

Yes you are.

Ext3, safer than ext2
Joe, you're switching to the "bright side of the force"

[Joe Gronlund]

Ext3, safer than ext2
Joe, you're switching to the "bright side of the force"

Thats good to know lol

[filburt1]

Ext3, safer than ext2
Joe, you're switching to the "bright side of the force"

As much as I hate running Linux on a desktop, I do have to admit, Linux on a server (for my purposes) has been like night and day over Windows Server 2003. No way I'll switch back for the server. For desktops, still Windows (or Mac OS X).