Newbie Question about defrag, please help me!!! | SQL Server Performance Forums

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Newbie Question about defrag, please help me!!!

Hi!!! I am a newbie and need to learn MSSQL because our third-party application runs on it and now we have performance issues and I have detected fragmentation on our server raid disks. Since the first application was installed, we never have defragmented the disks and now Windows Defrag, reports a high level of fragmentation in all volumes. So my question is: Must I stop all services in order to Run Windows Defrag?
If I can buy a commercial version of a software such as Diskeeper Enterprise for Servers, because they do not need to stop the services using its technology. Or, If you recommend another software please tell me.
Thanks for any information. Heberson Sette de Almeida

Yes, you must stop SQL Server unless you buy 3rd party software that can do this.
in many cases, if you can shut down SQL
with properly configured disks
it can be faster to backup the db
reformat the partition where data normally resides
then restore but, realisitically, if your third party app is slow
i would not leap to this conclusion without proper complete analysis
Where is your application installed? Is it on the same server as SQL?
Diskkeeper 10 is a third party program that will defrag open SQL Server data files. I use it all the time. If you do use it, be sure to schedule it so that it only runs during less busy times of the day. —————————–
Brad M. McGehee, SQL Server MVP
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