Every time a visitor enters your website, a file is created and stored on the server. The more visitors, the more files and the more data that can be misplaced and jumbled on the server. As these files grow, the fragmentation of the information causes the server to slow down and the website to move more slowly than it should. The slower the server, the slower the website response and the more likely those visitors are to move their interests to a competitors website. This is why your server needs to be defragmented on a daily basis.
What is defragmentation?
When looking into the defragging of your server, you must first understand what defragmentation is. Defragging means gathering all of the related files and placing all of that information together on the server. The files that are placed here and there and everywhere need to be together on the server to optimize the speed of the server.
Once all of the movable files are gathered together, the server will have to work less hard in order to access those files and thus the speed of the server will increase.
Important Tips For Server Defragmentation
When defragging a server, it is important to keep some helpful tips in mind.
- Use of Space - When a defragmentation software is being used on a server, that software needs to allow the server to stay up and running 100% of the time. The system resources used for defragging need to be kept to a minimum so the server can maintain normal function throughout the process. Defragmentation can take hours, and if your server is out of commission for that long, the visitors to the site will believe you are out of business and try a competitor's site.
- Defrag Often - The longer the webmaster waits to begin defragging the server, the longer it will take to accomplish the task of sorting through all of the files. The server should be defragged at least once a week and even more often if the websites on the server have high traffic volumes.
- Never Choose the Built-In Software - The software that is built in to a computer system just can not meet the needs of a server. The IT department will need to have 100% control of the defragging software at all times and those provided "free" softwares are certainly not built for the customer volume and file aspects of a server.
- Know Your Server - On a file server, the defrag software should do more than just place the files in order, it should place those files in order of access date. That way, if a file needs to be accessed later, the webmaster will be able to quickly find the file and access the information within.
Choosing the right defrag software can mean the difference in the speed and flexibility of user applications on a website. Information, and a lot of it, is stored on a server and that information needs to be sorted, filed and gathered in order to keep the website running smoothly.
