Can I defrag MSA500 Array Volumes?

[MICHAE1]

I have read mixed comments about this and cannot find a definitive answer. Can you defrag volumes on a staorage array? or is it best to use a custom utility? (hosting SQL2K DB's.

[MICHAE1]

It is a RAID 6 Array..

[Uwe Zessin]

The MSA500 box works with data blocks and does not understand a filesystem or even a partition table.
You need utilities inside the operating system, e.g. Windows' defragmenter.

[MICHAE1]

I have read that it is not recommended to use Windows Defrag on this kind of setup.
Would you recommend Disk Keeper as an alternative?

[Uwe Zessin · Accepted solution]

I'd like to hear some arguments ;-)

Defragmentation has some negative effects when using array-based snapshots or thin-provisioning, but the MSA500 has none of these features.