| It has always been an IT dream: as many computer | | | | One prime example is scheduled disk |
| operations as possible need to be transparent. Since | | | | defragmentation-a task which has been around for |
| the eighties, the word (in a similar way to "paradigm | | | | so long that many may consider it "transparent." But |
| shift") has been bandied about and used liberally by | | | | a closer look will show this to be anything but true: |
| software publishers and vendors, and all one has to | | | | systems must be analyzed for performance |
| do is search the latest in software news to discover | | | | bottlenecks due to fragmentation, and schedules for |
| that transparency in software, especially system | | | | defragmentation must be set accordingly. Not only |
| software, is still a critical issue. At the least updates, | | | | does this require considerable IT personnel time, it |
| virus scans and other routine system tasks should | | | | requires experience with a system and its |
| operate transparently, with no attention from IT or | | | | operations-something many personnel don't have |
| users. | | | | these days. It can be clearly seen that disk |
| The fact that "transparent" is still an issue comes as | | | | defragmentation, along with other such tasks, needs |
| no surprise. Firstly, many of the applications and | | | | to be truly transparent. |
| utilities previously promoted as "transparent", weren't | | | | As an aside, one other problem with scheduled |
| quite. They would cause performance glitches or slow | | | | defragmentation is that it can no longer keep up with |
| down applications, or in some cases they would | | | | today's frantic rates of fragmentation-in between |
| completely freeze up a system attempting to | | | | scheduled runs, fragmentation is continuing to occur |
| operate "in the background." Hence in some quarters | | | | and impact performance. Also, because of today's |
| the goal is still yet to be met, developers are still | | | | higher-capacity disks and larger file sizes, there are |
| trying, and IT is still waiting. | | | | times when scheduled fragmentation isn't actually |
| But secondly, thanks to a combination of increasing | | | | defragmenting at all. |
| technology complexity, lack of experienced personnel | | | | Due to constant innovation, it well behooves IT |
| and the need by many corporations to operate | | | | directors and system administrators to stay abreast |
| 24X7, data center activity has hit near critical mass. | | | | of the latest in transparent technology. Following the |
| It's a constant struggle just to accomplish | | | | example of defragmentation, completely transparent |
| implementation of new applications and new | | | | defragmentation solutions now exist which require no |
| technologies such as virtualization, NAS and SAN. | | | | scheduling and operate invisibly in the background |
| Having to manually perform or even set schedules | | | | using only idle system resources. Solutions for other |
| for routine system tasks, quite apart from being | | | | such tasks are coming into the market every day. |
| outdated, just means extra work on the backs of | | | | Use them to unload routine tasks off the backs of |
| already-overwhelmed IT personnel. | | | | system personnel. |