BIOS: Technology Means Business

Defrag Manager 3.0 is an incredibly easy-to-use and effective software application for remotely scheduling, deploying, monitoring, and controlling the process of defragmenting hard disks on a Windows-based network. The software is even managed from a single console, so you don't need to waste time with laborious manual client installations. Overall, Winternal Software's Defrag Manager 3.0 is a cost-effective and scaleable solution for larger organisations that want to take proactive steps to help eliminate file system bottlenecks throughout the whole IT infrastructure.

Pros: Easy to install and use; Windows API compliant
Cons: Runs on Windows systems only

Defrag Manager is an advanced defragmenter that makes it easy to defragment Windows NT, 2000, XP, and Server 2003 computers on a network automatically from a single installation on your machine. Designed for large organisations, the software deploys a low-system-overhead defrag agent to each client according to a schedule that you can designate. The agent then utilises a proprietary defragmentation algorithm that automatically completes the defrag process before removing itself from each system. Therefore, no continuously-running services or manual client installations are required. Defrag Manager also works with Active Directory, so any new computers added to a network are also deframented.

As advanced as hard disks have become, one item they are not very good at is housekeeping. When files are created, deleted, or modified it's almost a certainty they will become fragmented. Fragmented simply means the file is not stored in one place in its entirety, or a contiguous location. Different parts of the file are scattered across the hard disk in non-contiguous pieces, so the more fragmented files there are on a drive, the more performance and reliability suffer as the drive heads have to search for all the pieces in different locations. Defragmenting a hard disks helps to re-organise non-contiguous files into contiguous files and optimise their placement on the hard disk for increased reliability and performance. For optimal performance, you should defragment your hard disk at least once a month.

Defrag Manager is based on Winternals' SmartPhase defragmentation engine, a speedy solution for computers with Terabyte and larger-sized disk arrays. All defragmentation tasks are controlled and configured from one system, regardless of the number of computers on the network or the physical location of the machines - including mobile systems disconnected from the network. You can schedule defrags for a single PC, a group of computers, an Active Directory organisation unit, or an entire domain with a single drag-and-drop. Every version of Windows NT, 2000, XP, and Windows Server 2003 is supported, so separate defrag products do not have to be maintained.

There are two offline optimisation modes available in Defrag Manager: a lightweight client that automatically defrags paging files and registry hives of remote computers at boot time, and an Advanced mode, which is an environment that defragments all files, folders, and metadata regardless of Windows version or cluster size. Advanced mode is also the first offline defragmenter that can optimise all data on a disk using Windows files system APIs to help minimise the risk of corruption and data loss. This functionality is the result of new technology acquired through a licensing agreement between Winternals and Microsoft that allows the use of Windows XP and Server 2003 kernel components.

Version 3.0 of the software has a new look with multi-pane views showing graphical defrag results from within the administrator's console. The SmartPhase engine now supports parallel defragmentation of different physical disks, user-selectable free space consolidation settings, Windows XP and Server 2003 Prefetch compliance, and defragmenting of NTFS alternate data streams. Advanced Mode now works from a bootable CD to safely defragment all Windows files, folders, and metadata regardless of Windows version, and an automatic boot-time optimisation feature allows Defrag Manager to automatically defragment the paging files, registry hives, Windows XP and 2000 hibernation files, and event log files of remote systems.

In addition, Defrag Manager 3.0's SmartBind scheduling with Active Directory can automatically schedule new computers as they're added to an organisational unit, freeing up defrag licenses whenever computers are removed, while the new History nodes help you to quickly identify any issues with previously run defrag schedules. Defrag Manager now gives you the option to create event logs on your machine to record schedule start times, completion status, and any errors on remote systems, has a new command-line interface that can be deployed via log-on scripts and the command prompt, and lets you find computers on a network by name and description.

The software is installed onto the computer that you will use to schedule and monitor defragmentation. Once installed, the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in interface is used to manage clients and defrag rules. Comprising three main windows, the Scope window displays the primary nodes (Schedule, History, Network and Active Directory), the Results window displays information about the node selected in the Scope window, and the Details window becomes visible when you select a defrag schedule. The Details window also displays defrag logs, graphical analysis histories, as well as details of computers' past defrag runs. All windows can be resized to suit your preferences.

A neat feature is that an entire domain or workgroup can be dragged and dropped onto a schedule, so all client systems will automatically have that schedule applied to them. In addition, you can avoid defragmenting desktop computers while they're in use. For instance, if it's not practical to schedule defragmentation during known idle times (such as late at night), you can enable the software's Mobile Client Mode and select 'Stop the task if the computer ceases to be idle'. This will stop the defragmentation until the next scheduled run in the event that a user begins to use the mouse or keyboard. The software can also be set to wake computers to run the defrag task.