Windows + RAID Controllers = Defrag / Optimize Yes or No ?

[TomJ802]

Windows Server OS obviously has issues identifying some details of the drives that make up the array of a Logical Drive and often reports back whatever it can from the storage controller.  And I suspect that enterprise grade storage controllers such as used in servers likely manages the individual drives anyway.  But that leads to a question - how should the OS be configured in regards to Defrag or Optimization?  I've got another thread here trying to understand why Windows is classifying my SSD array as a hard drive (leading to the OS scheduling Defrag), but even if the OS did identify the drive type correctly, is it preferable to allow the OS to run these types of optimizations?  Or is it wiser to disable them in the OS and just let the storage controller manage the drives?

Is there any general wisdom on this topic?  I note that HPE's 'Intelligent Provisioning' let Windows try to Defrag my SSD array - it seems that the scripting could very easily have been modified to disable that...

[TomJ802]

Boy - there was a time when HP was the pinnacle of technical documentation for their products...  It seems like those days are gone.

I am disappointed in the lack of available information for the MR408i storage controllers - barely any mention of how the controller manages the drives, specifically regarding UNMAP / TRIM.  And as one of the first U3 designs on the G11, little discussion of SATA despite HPE including SATA drives in several of their 'Smart Configured' offerings. 

[Sebasbin · Accepted solution]

Hi,

When dealing with Windows Server and hardware RAID arrays, it's generally best to disable defragmentation in the Windows Server OS and let the hardware RAID controller manage the drives. 

[TomJ802]

Thanks - that is actually what I suspected.  I searched high and low through every support document I could find and was surprised to discover very little on the topic.  The issue was also complicated by the fact that my new server came from HPE with 2 x SATA SSD drives - I created a RAID1 array and the Windows OS saw the logical drive as a Hard Disk and initially enabled DEFRAG.  I disabled the DEFRAG option, knowing that is not best practive for SSD drives.  I would have expected the Intelligent Provisioning scripts to disable DEFRAG during the OS installation, but I guess that slips by?