Released side-by-side with Diskeeper today is the new product – HyperFast. HyperFast is the first ever file system based solution designed specifically to optimize NAND Flash devices.

Most NAND Flash storage drives suffer from a different kind of fragmentation than what many are accustomed to. They do not experience the same file fragmentation read delays of traditional platter disks, except in extreme circumstances. Most NAND Flash drives do suffer write penalties that are exacerbated over time by badly fragmented free space.

The new Solid State Drives (SSDs) are based on NAND Flash technology and will degrade over time as free space gets chopped up across the device. You may have heard that you should not "defrag" Flash drives. This is largely true, given the traditional definition of defragmentation as "file defragmentation". That traditional approach would also create excess and unnecessary write activity on these devices (that does not return benefit as it would a HDD), potentially wearing them out faster.

The purpose of HyperFast is optimization of free space to keep file writes at peak "out of box" performance levels. Its design considers both performance and longevity, increasing both through intelligent organization of data on these drives. It addresses the needs of Flash drives without the negative aspects of traditional file defragmenters specifically designed to improve HDD performance.

While HyperFast can improve all portable Flash drives, like the common USB attached thumb/jump drives or Memory Stick/SD card, these storage devices are unlikely, depending on use of course, to accumulate fragmented free space to a significant enough degree. An occasional defrag with Diskeeper, once or twice a year, will likely be sufficient, as Diskeeper will thoroughly consolidate free space. Where HyperFast is needed is when an SSD is used as the primary drive on a Windows computer (e.g. a new laptop). Windows will create serious free space fragmentation on a "C:" drive in a matter of months.

HyperFast is currently available as an add-on (bundled product) option to any edition of Diskeeper 2009, except HomeServer. The Diskeeper 2009 (Home/Professional/Pro Premier) with HyperFast bundle will automatically detect any Flash-based drive and apply HyperFast. If a Hard Disk Drive is detected, an automatic process as well, Diskeeper will be run.

If you do not add HyperFast, Diskeeper 2009 will still detect Flash-based storage and disable Diskeeper defragmentation, by default. You can then choose to enable it – as needed (i.e. for that once a year defrag/cleanup).

The result of this tightly integrated bundle of Diskeeper and HyperFast is a fully automated performance solution without having to manually figure out what solution to run on a given volume. That becomes increasingly valuable if you are deploying Diskeeper and HyperFast to multiple computers, as in a network.

You can get 30-day trialware in the same place you get Diskeeper trialware.

HyperFast is currently only available as a bundle option with Diskeeper. A standalone HyperFast product will be available early next year.