Defragmentation - How/which should you use?

[PcPixel]

We've been using VMware for a while now for various servers & things have been going very well. However, I've been wondering about defragmenting the "drives". You have both the drive file in the host operating system as well as the drive within the virtual OS. Should you defragment both? What is the recommended/standard practice for defragmenting virtual drives/files?

[RParker]

You only defragment the guest OS. VMDK files don't need to be defragmented, moving them will defragment anyway.

Use Disk keeper for Windows, Linux there are no defragmentation tools for ext3 format.

[JoeAb]

PerfectDisk 2008 for VMware defragments virtual and host drives, re-indexes and shrinks drive to reclaim space, all with just one installation (www.raxco.com). Also can use PerfectDIsk on ESX guests.

[TomHowarth]

The software you mentions only appears to be of relevance to Workstation and Server users, not ESX

Tom Howarth

VMware Communities User Moderator

[FredPeterson]

"VMDK files don't need to be defragmented"

Depends on how they were created and whether there was contiguous space available when a full size thick vmdk was created in the first place.

I'd say defrag the vmdk using contig just to be sure.

[JoeAb]

PerfectDisk 2008 for VMware works with VMware Workstation and VMware Server, and does the defragmenting, re-indexing and shrinking. The PerfectDisk 2008 for VMware ESX Bundle was released today - licensing by host.

http://www.raxco.com/enterprise/enterprise_perfectdisk_vmware_esx.cfm

[dieterj]

"I'd say defrag the vmdk using contig just to be sure."

Hi Fred.., what do you mean by 'contig' ?

mistype or some other tools that I should know..?

thanx!

[PcPixel]

I belive he is referring to a tool by SysInternals (www.sysinternals.com). Config is a program that takes a single file as an argument & defragments it.