Disk defragmentation is the process of rearranging data on a server's hard disks to make the files more contiguous for more efficient reads. Defragmenting your hard disks helps increase disk performance and ensures that the servers in your Exchange 2000 organization run smoothly and efficiently.

Because severe disk fragmentation can cause performance problems, run a disk defragmentation program on a regular basis or when server performance levels fall below normal. Because more disk reads are necessary when backing up a heavily fragmented file system, ensure that your disks are recently defragmented.

Exchange 2000 databases also require defragmentation. For information about Exchange database defragmentation, see ôOnline and Offline Defragmentationö later in Part 1 of this document.

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
• Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
• Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition
• Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
• Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server