fragmentation
(1) Refers to the condition of a disk in which files are divided into pieces scattered around the disk. Fragmentation occurs naturally when you use a disk frequently, creating, deleting, and modifying files. At some point, the operating system needs to store parts of a file in noncontiguous clusters. This is entirely invisible to users, but it can slow down the speed at which data is accessed because the disk drive must search through different parts of the disk to put together a single file.
In DOS 6.0 and later systems, you can defragment a disk with the DEFRAG command. You can also buy software utilities, called disk optimizers or defragmenters, that defragment a disk.
See "Learn How to Defrag Your Hard Drive" in the Did You Know...? section of Webopedia.
(2) Fragmentation can also refer to RAM that has small, unused holes scattered throughout it. This is called external fragmentation. With modern operating systems that use a paging scheme, a more common type of RAM fragmentation is internal fragmentation. This occurs when memory is allocated in frames and the frame size is larger than the amount of memory requested.
-
1
enterprise application
An enterprise application is the term used to describe applications -- or software -- that a business would use to assist the organization in...
-
2
open source
Generically, open source refers to a program in which the source code is available to the general public for use and/or modification from its...
-
-
3
CPU - Central Processing Unit
Definition: CPU is the abbreviation for central processing unit. The CPU is the brains of the computer where most calculations take place.
-
4
mobile operating system
An operating system for mobile devices.
-
5
Facebook
The name of a social networking site (SNS) that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them.
-
6
ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning
Short for enterprise resource planning, ERP is business management software that allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications...
-
7
RSA Secure ID
RSA SecurID ( “SecurID”) is a two-factor authentication technology that is used to protect network resources.
-
8
ecommerce remarketing
In email and online marketing, remarketing or ecommerce remarketing refers to the techniques, strategies and often the automated email...
-
9
Wi-Fi
A popular wireless networking technology that provides high-speed Internet and network connections.
-
10
RAM
Pronounced ramm, acronym for random access memory, a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly; that is, any byte of memory can be...
-
11
biometrics
The study of measurable biological characteristics. In computer security, biometrics refers to authentication techniques that rely on physical...
Connect with Webopedia
-
-
Cloud Computing White Papers and Resources for Small Businesses
Keeping track of cloud computing trends, research and statistics gives small businesses knowledge and a solid foundation to get the most value...
