Disk Quota Problems

Disk space on the departmental network file stores is a finite resource, so we employ a quota system to limit how much each person can use. The current limits are:

We strongly recommend that you use this space to store your data, as it is backed up to tape every night and snapshots are also taken at regular intervals throughout the day.

We run a regular check that will email you to warn you if you are close to exceeding this quota limit.

How do I check my Disk Quota?

You can check your quota limit by logging into any departmental linux host and typing the command:

showquota

i.e.

768 student@vm-berlin:~$ showquota 

===========================================================
Quota Report for:       Student
Located on:             silo6-cifs-nfs-01
Volume:                 vol_home_2
===========================================================

Quota for student             Disk Space Percentage
----------------------------- ---------- ----------
Disk Quota is set at:         50Gb       100%
Used space:                   1.4Gb      3%
Free space:                   49Gb       97%

What is using all the space?

To find our what is using all the space, login to any departmental linux host and run the command:

show-disk-usage

This will display all top level files/folders and how much space each one is using. We recommend that you do not remove any files/folders unless you are very sure what they are used for

How do I get more disk space?

In the first instance we would encourage you to run the command:

show-disk-usage

This should show show if there are any large files/folders that you are able to delete. If you are not able to free up enough disk space you can contact support@ee.ucl.ac.uk to request additional space. It is always useful to let us know what this space will be used for and how much you think you need. This will help us to sort out the additional space or sort out alternative storage that may be more appropriate for you needs.