Improve Database System Performance With Diskeeper

Boot-Time Defragmentation

You can enable your server to be defragmented after each reboot. This is not easy to do with the Windows defragmentation tool.

I-FAAST Defragmentation

According to Diskeeper, "Intelligent File Access Acceleration Sequencing Technology (I-FAAST) improves file access and creation on NTFS volumes by up to 80% (average 10%-20%) above and beyond the improvement provided by defragmentation alone. This is the first industry implementation of "Disk Performance Calibration," the modern evolution of the outdated and inconclusive disk optimization strategies of the past. Automatic Defragmentation keeps your volumes running as if they were new. I-FAAST Defragmentation works alongside Automatic Defragmentation to improve performance of your volumes to better than new."

This feature is only available with Diskeeper EnterpriseServer, Diskeeper Server and Diskeeper Pro Premier.

Performance

These types of tools always take resources away from your system. The following screenshot shows the resources used by Diskeeper. Most of the time the percentage is very small -- 5% -- while in only one instance it was around 50%. (These samples were taken when there were fewer processes running on the system.)

The server I used, which has 40 GB capacity with 34 GB of data, had not been defragmented for nearly a year. Defragmentation took one and a half hours. At the time Diskeeper ran, only the normal processes were running.

SQL Server Specific Improvements

Diskeeper is designed to cater to all the Windows file systems. As an SQL Server DBA, I'd would like to see some additional features that support SQL Server; for example, a filter to view SQL Server .mdf and .ldf files separately and an option to view SQL Server data backups.

Recommendation

Diskeeper is an ideal tool to solve your external fragmentation issues. It is a simple yet effective way to improve database system performance. If you are a DBA, I recommend that you download this tool and experience the difference. If you'd like more information first, take the free tour.