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From: billw@killer.UUCP (Bill Wisner)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: UNIX disk space management
Message-ID: <1821@killer.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 14-Oct-87 19:24:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: killer.1821
Posted: Wed Oct 14 19:24:45 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 17-Oct-87 05:36:26 EDT
References: <11121@beta.UUCP>
Organization: HASA
Lines: 32
Keywords: disk space, files

ddk@beta.UUCP:

> 	We have a CRAY XMP12 running UNICOS and have been having
> problems managing our disk space.  What do other UNIX sites do to
> manage their disk space?  Do you purge files, charge users for space,
> or let the users manage their own space?

From a user's standpoint, I've always been rather against things like charging
users for space. It's my personal standpoint that no restrictions should be
placed on user directory sizes -- as long as they stay with in reason. Within
reason must be changed, of course, depending on the particulars of the site.
If a user has a ridiculous amount of space consumed, don't immediately get
nasty. One technique that I've known to be effective is to hold them up to
ridicule, in a fashion: I've known of systems that maintained a list of top
disk-hogs, and how much space they used, in /etc/motd. It was pretty effective,
also.

If lesser measures fail, then it may be reasonable to charge users for space
or even delete files FOR them is necessary to get their disk usage below the
limit. Obviously, a warning by mail is in order before such steps are taken.

Oh, and about file purging: This is, of course, my opinion only, but I consider
an automatic purge of any file that has not been accessed within a certain
amount of time (like six months?) to be reasonable. It would probably be a
good idea to warn users that this will happen ahead of time; there are files
that people consider important and refer to for information often, but they
may never modify it. Advance warning would make such a system an effective
method of removing old files that users don't really care about any more. Only
passive cooperation is required, unless they have some "keepers" laying around.
-- 
Bill Wisner, HASA 'A' Division		..ihnp4!killer!billw
"It's the coarse feel of the rope that I don't like."