File Fragmentation Cost Analysis

Worksheet
SECTION A: FRAGMENTATION DRAIN ON YOUR SYSTEM
Below is a series of questions designed to gauge the percentage of performance drain on your system
due to fragmentation. Please fill out each question, then total the point value for all the questions
and fill in the total at the end of this section. From the total you will be able to get a good idea of
the degree of performance drain you are experiencing from fragmentation on your system. This
will not give you an exact answer. By answering these questions, you will get an approximate
figure you can use to find out approximately how much fragmentation is costing you, in dollars and
cents.
1. If your disks are:
Below 79% full
80-89% full
90-95% full
over 95% full
Fill in value here

Points:
1
4
7
10

2. How much idle time does your system have? To find out, at a peak period of the day, and if on
a cluster, on your busiest node, type this command:
$ MONITOR MODES
Observe the bottom line of the graph. Which range does it mostly fluctuate in?
75-100%
50-75%
25-50%
0-25%
Fill in value here

Points:
1
3
6
10

3. What is your split transfer rate (split I/Os)? To find out, at a peak period of the day,
and if on a cluster, on your busiest node, type this command:
$ MONITOR IO
The fourth line gives you the split transfer rate. Use the figure from the "AVE" column.
0.50 or below
0.50 to 2.00
2.00 to 10.00
over 10.00
Fill in value here

Points:
1
5
8
10

4. Is your computer used primarily for:

Points

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a. Furniture
b. Research & Development
c. Real time Data Collection
d. Multi-User Applications
Fill in value here

1
4
7
10

5. Types of applications you are running: Please check all that apply. If you check more
than one, take the full value of the highest one, then half value for all others.
a. Backup or redundant system
b. System used for R&D only
c. Running inventory control,

1
3

production control
d. Running word processing/text
editing/electronic mail
e. Running databases that use
pre-allocated disk space
f. Running CAD/CAM
g. Compiling/executing FORTRAN/
Ada/BASIC/Other languages
h. Running databases that do not use
pre-allocated disk space
Fill in value here

4
5
5
7
7
10

6. How many hours per day is your computer being used with users logged in?
Points
2
4
7
10

a. less than 8
b. 8-12 hours/day
c. 12-16 hours/day
d. 16-24 hours/day
Fill in value here
7. Is your system part of a computer cluster?
a. No
b. Yes; 2-4 nodes
c. Yes; 5-8 nodes
d. Yes; 9 or more nodes
Fill in value here

Points
1
4
7
10

SECTION A: TOTAL:
8. Total of your answers to questions 1-7 above:

If your total is:

8-21 your estimated percentage of performance drain is 5%

22-36 your estimated percentage of performance drain is 10%

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37-62 your estimated percentage of performance drain is 15%

63-80 your estimated percentage of performance drain is 20%
9. YOUR PERCENTAGE OF PERFORMANCE
DRAIN FROM FRAGMENTATION
(from table above)

5%

SECTION B: COST OF SYSTEM

1. Cost of computer system:
Cost of computer system, both hardware and software; if your do not know, estimate it as one
of the following: $20,000; $50,000; $100,000; $200,000; $500,000; $1,000,000
2. Payback period
The payback period is the time within which your organization expects the computer system to have
paid for itself. Typically this is 15 months, although some use 12 months, 18 months or some other
period (if you don't know the payback period used at your site, use 15 months).
Payback Period:
12 months
15 months
18 months
Fill in value here

12

Number of shifts run in 24 hours

1
2
3
Fill in value here

Total Payback hours:

2,000

3. Hourly cost of computer:

$0.00

(Cost from line 1 above divided by total hours in

payback period from line 2 above)
4. Weekly cost of computer

$0.00

(Cost from line 3 above times work hours per

week 40, 80, 120, etc)

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5. Monthly cost of computer:

$0.00

(Weekly cost from line 4 above times 4.35)

6. Monthly cost of hardware maintenance
and software update service:
$0.00

7. Total monthly cost of computer

(Add lines 5 and 6)
8. Percentage of performance drain

5%

due to fragmentation
(percentage from Section A line 9)
9. MONTHLY SYSTEM COSTS LOST DUE
$

TO FRAGMENTATION

(line 7 times line 8 above)

SECTION C: VALUE OF COMPUTER SYSTEM OPERATIONS

PERSONNEL LOST DUE TO FRAGMENTATION
Computer Operations personnel are paid to make the computer perform.
All maintenance, entry, programming and management jobs are wasted
if the computer is down and being used as furniture. In such an instance
100% of these salaries would be wasted.
But a computer with 10% of its resources needlessly devoted to retrieving
file fragments is wasting 10% of the Computer Operations personnel time
and salaries. They cannot produce their service 100% of the time.
Record the approximate weekly salaries of computer system
operations personnel (computer operators, system managers, database
administrators and so on). If you don't know the weekly salaries, you
can use these figures as a rough guide:
System Managers

$800 - 1500

Average: $1150

Programmers

$800 - 1800

Average: $1300

MIS Directors

$1200 - 2000

Average: $1600

1. Weekly salary of person #1

Fill in value here:

2. Weekly salary of person #2

3. Weekly salary of person #3
4. Weekly salary of person #4

"
"
"

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5. Weekly salary of person #5

6. Weekly salary of person #6
7. Weekly salary of person #7
8. Weekly salary of person #8

"
"
"
"

9. Total weekly salary of all personnel

(sum of lines #1 - 8 above)

10. Monthly computer personnel salaries

(weekly salaries from line #9 times 4.35)
11. Percentage of performance drain due to fragmentation
5%

(percentage from Section A line 9)

12. MONTHLY COMPUTER PERSONNEL SALARY
WASTED DUE TO FRAGMENTATION
(Line 10 above times Line 11 above)

SECTION D: VALUE OF USERS LOST DUE TO

FRAGMENTATION DRAIN
The computer has users. These users produce something, and this
something has a value. Management has already assigned a
dollar amount to the minimum value of what they produce
which is their salaries.
If users have to spend time waiting for the computer to perform various
functions because it has been slowed down due to fragmentation,
then the amount of time, added up, gives one a wasted expense. The
users were paid to sit there and wait, whereas they could have been
getting more work done. So a computer that is being slowed
down 10% due to fragmentation is wasting 10% of the salaries of
of those working on it who have to wait for it to do their work. Users may
not even notice this time after a while because they are used to it. But
if the loss were not there, they could be accomplishing 10% more
useful work.
Typically, there are two types of users: 1) full time computer users
who use the computer all day every day and who depend upon it to
to do their jobs; and 2) part time computer users, who use the computer
occasionally and who get a productivity boost out of using it.
Here are some typical salary ranges and averages to use. If you know

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your figures and they are different from these, then by all means use your
figures.

Average: $500

Clerical workers

$400 - 600

Sales

$600 - 1600

Average: $1100

Management

$600 - 1500

Average: $1050

Research/Scientific

$1000 - 2000

Average: $1500

FULL TIME USERS

# of Users

Category

Total Salaries

Avg. Salary

1.

Clerical

2.

Sales

3.

Management

4.

Research/Scientific

5. Total salaries from full time users

PART TIME USERS
# of Users

Category

Total Salaries

Avg. Salary

6.

Clerical

7.

Sales

8.

Management

9.

Research/Scientific

10. Total salaries from part time users

11. Total part time salaries from line 10 above divided by 4
(to account for only part time use of the computer)
12. Total weekly cost of all users
(sum of line 5 and line 11 above)
13. Monthly cost of all users
(weekly cost from line 12 above, times 4.35)
14. Percentage performance drain due to fragmentation
(percentage from Section A line 9)

5%

15. MONTHLY USER SALARY WASTED DUE TO FRAGMENTATION

(multiply line 13 times the percentage from line 14)

SECTION E: TOTAL FRAGMENTATION COSTS

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Now add up all the fragmentation-related costs and losses (from the previous sections):
1. MONTHLY SYSTEM COSTS LOST DUE TO FRAGMENTATION
(from Section B line 9)

2. MONTHLY COMPUTER PERSONNEL SALARY COSTS WASTED

DUE TO FRAGMENTATION (from Section C line 12)
3. MONTHLY USER SALARY LOST DUE TO FRAGMENTATION
(from Section D line 15)
4. TOTAL MONTHLY FRAGMENTATION-RELATED COSTS
AND LOSSES (sum of lines 1-3 above) THIS IS THE AMOUNT
DISKEEPER WILL SAVE YOU MONTHLY, ONCE PURCHASED
5. ANNUAL COST (line 4 above times 12). THIS IS THE AMOUNT
DISKEEPER WILL SAVE YOU YEARLY

SECTION F: COST JUSTIFYING DISKEEPER

As you can see, the costs of fragmentation are quite high, even if it is
causing only a 5% drain on system performance. Remember, too,
these estimates are conservative because without regular
defragmentation, the performance drain due to fragmentation is
compounded weekly.
Now let's do the final figures to see how fast DISKEEPER will pay for
itself at your site.
1. YOUR QUOTE FOR BUYING DISKEEPER on your system.
2. If your quote (line 1) is higher than the monthly cost of
fragmentation from Section E line 4, divide line 1 above by the number
from Section E line 4. This is the number of months it will take
DISKEEPER to pay for itself.
If Section E line 4 (monthly cost of fragmentation) is higher than
your quote (from line 1), then DISKEEPER will pay for itself in less
than one month, by speeding up system performance, allowing for
more useful work to be done, and for better utilization of personnel.
In such a case, fragmentation is costing your organization a great deal
of money, and buying DISKEEPER now will start saving you money

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within one month.

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