File system fragmentation

In computing, file system fragmentation, sometimes called file system aging is a special case of data fragmentation, an inherent phenomena in storage-backed file systems that allow in-place modification of their contents.

File system fragmentation is projected to become more problematic with time, due to the increasing gap between sequential access speed and seek time of consumer-grade hard drives, which file systems are usually placed on.

File system fragmentation may occur on several levels:

• Fragmentation within individual files.
• The decrease of locality of reference between different files.

See also

• Fragmentation
• Defragmentation