[Sussex] Why Linux doesn't need defrag

[linux at oneandoneis2.org]

Quoting Alan Pope <alan at popey.com>:

> I don't agree with:-
>
> "Linux pays attention to the hard drive's actual geometry, and would not
> split this file so badly."
>
> I was under the impression that Linux has no clue about the real physical
> geometry of the disk because that's abstracted by the circuitry on the
> drive/controller. As far as Linux is concerned it's a large number of
> sectors, it has no clue *really* how they're arranged.
>
> That's my understanding anyway.

You could well be right - I read somewhere that Linux *did* take the  
geometry into account, but I'm damned if I can find the relevant  
article again. .

Anybody know for sure which is right?

Cheers

Dominic