Disk Quotas

Disk quotas are a tool for enforcing a limit on the amount of hard disk storage a user is entitled to use. It is imperative that users periodically check their disk space consumption, since an exceeded quota will create problems. Users will not be able to log in (after a warning period has expired), mail will not be deliverable, new files can't be created, etc.

Use the following command to view your quota and usage

quota -v

Note: If no numerical values appear under the fields described below, then your home directory is on a server that does not have disk quota restrictions, so the information here is not relevant to you. If you are having problems with your account, then please contact the CFS.

The resulting output contains four relevant values labeled "usage," "quota," "limit," and "timeleft". For example

Filesystem            usage  quota  limit   timeleft  ...
/a/core/files8/home   22596  35000  40000             ...

(If you see several quota entries displayed, you need only concern yourself with the entry with the biggest values.)

• usage   tells you how many kilobytes of disk space your files currently occupy.
• quota   tells you your soft quota; when your usage hits this value, you begin receiving messages every time you log in that you have exceeded your disk quota. When this happens you must remove or compress some of your files or mail messages. The operating system will continue allowing you to write files up untill you hit your hard limit:
• limit   tells you your hard quota; this is an absolute limit to the amount of disk storage that is allotted to you. Once your usage hits this number, the operating system will prevent you from creating new files, appending to existing files, receiving email, etc. At this point, you must remove/archive files. And immediate and harmless way to start is by removing your netscape cache:

  rm -rf ~/.netscape/cache
  

• timeleft   is the amount of time in days that you have to get under your soft limit. If this number reaches zero, then the system will lock your account, preventing you from logging in. At that point, you will have to contact the CFS for help.

2145 Sheridan Road . Evanston / IL . 60208
Phone: 847-491-8140 . FAX: 847-491-4455
webmaster@ece.northwestern.edu

Wed Oct 22 16:45:59 CDT 2003