defragging a linux system

[emekadavid]

is there a defragmentation program for linux that has replaced the older one that was built for ext2 filesystems, defrag?
read on tldp that it is not advisable to use defrag.

 

[ehansen]

fsck is the de-facto (and as far as I know most reliable) "defragging" tool out there. Besides that I don't see another one for anyone to use. fsck does its job quite well.

Is there any particular reason why you shouldn't or can't use fsck?

 

[Kerms]

Yeah, defragging linux partitions is generally a bad idea. If you were hoping to gain performance, you will most likely lose performance. The extended filesystems, when full, clutter relevant data next to each other, therefore maximising performance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ext2#Allocating_Data

Secondly,
Fsck is NOT a defragger, it's a File System ChecKer. It checks for filesystem consistency; it checks for corruptions from unclean shutdowns.
The Microsoft equivalent programs are CHKDSK and SCANDISK.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fsck

 

[emekadavid]

i agree. fsck is not a defragger. by the way, it's unwise to use fsck for a partition already mounted by init.