I'm using ext3 filesystem on my Linux box and wondering if there are such things like disk fragmentation or lost clusters in Linux? And what about disk/file integrity issue in Linux? Do I have to worry about it? I don't want to face a sudden data loss later.

It's just that I've been too long being on Windows where running ScanDisk and Defrag frequently is a must :)

Well an EXT3 file system should prevent most of those problems.

The closest thing to scandisk in *nix terms is fsck. Most linux boxes are configured to force a fsck check ever "x" reboots of the system. Depending on the size/speed of the drive, that can be a slow process. The fsck happens when the system is rebooted.

Frank

There is a program that will defrag your linux partitions but even the author doesnt recommend using it as it may do more harm to performance than good. The glory of Linux is that with ext2 and ext3 you do not get the amount of fragmented clusters as you do with Windows.

I would recommend leaving it as is and let the system take care of itself, that's what it was designed to do : ).

Thanks for all the info. I'll just leave the system as is then.

Originally posted by ffeingol
Well an EXT3 file system should prevent most of those problems.

The closest thing to scandisk in *nix terms is fsck.

With ext3 (or other journalling fs), you don't even need fsck. Fsck (or scandisk) will take some to finish with large drives. With journalling fs, long time when rebooting is no longer an issue.