Disk Usage Quotas

Unix Directory Quotas

CS&E Users

Each CS&E user has 500 MB for their Windows profile and a variable size for their Unix home directories based on the table below.

*There is no longer a boost in your quota when you pass the WPE or Orals. Talk to your advisor if you need additional space.

CSE Labs Disk Space

CSE Labs users get 500 MB of disk space for their Unix home directory.

Checking Disk Quota

Execute from the shell prompt: quota -v. It will return output similar to this:

Disk quotas for user <username> (uid <uid>):
     Filesystem  blocks   quota   limit   grace   files   quota   limit   grace
<file server>:/export/home/gradxx
                  63668  204800  253600            2633       0       0

Going over Disk Quota

If you are over your soft limit, you will have a week to reduce your usage. Use the "rm" command to delete core files, Netscape caches, etc. If you are over your hard limit or your week has run out, you must delete files to be able to create more. You may need to ssh from a remote machine, since at this point you will usually not be able to login at the graphical console. Then delete files until you are under quota. 'du -k --max-depth=1 . | sort -nr' on Linux or '/opt/gnu/bin/du -k --max-depth=1 . | sort -nr' on Solaris can help with figuring out what directory contains the most data. If you need help, you can go to the Operator Office and someone there can help you remove files. Operators can’t help delete files over the phone.

Windows Profile Quotas

Personal Profiles

Your personal profile stores your individual settings in Windows. This includes everything from your wallpaper and your desktop to your My Documents folder.

How Personal Profiles Work

Your profile is stored on a central server and is downloaded at every login and uploaded at every logout. Your profile provides a way of customizing your settings so that your personal settings are the same no matter what Windows computer you log into. Any change you make to your profile when logged in is not saved to the central server until you log out. This is why it is not a good idea to store important files or documents in your profile (i.e. on your desktop). You should always store important data in your Y: drive, where they are immediately saved.

Profile Quotas

CS&E Users

Each CS&E user has a profile quota limit of 500 MB. Setting a quota limit helps prevent file corruption and speeds up the login process. Users exceeding this quota will receive a warning by email. Failure to respond will result in the user's account being disabled.

CSE Labs Users

Each CSE Labs user has a soft profile quota limit of 500 MB. Setting a quota limit helps prevent file corruption and speeds up the login process. Users exceeding this quota will see a nag screen, receive a warning by e-mail to their CSE Labs e-mail account, and may, after repeated warnings, have their accounts temporarily closed.

Going over Quota

Profiles generally grow in size over time. The most common cause for going over quota is the files that are cached when you use a web browser.

CS&E Users

1. If you go over quota, the first thing that you need to do is figure out what is taking up the most space in your profile. To do this, go to C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\. Right click on your username and choose "Properties". Next, click on the Size tab (If the size tab is not displayed on the computer that you are using, please email operator [at] cs.umn.edu and they will fix the problem. Please be sure to include the hostname of the machine you're using.)
2. Once you know what is taking up the most space in your profile, you will need to move this data to either your Y: drive or to project space and then delete it out of your profile. If browser cache is taking up the most space, you can safely just delete these files out of your profile. Mozilla and Firefox cache are usually the number one thing that will put you over your quota. Mozilla cache is generally stored in C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<random string>\Cache. It is best if you close Firefox before you delete these files.

PLEASE NOTE: Any data that you delete out of your profile (i.e. C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\) will also need to be deleted from the copy of your profile that is stored out on the server. This will need to be done before you log out. To access your profile on the server, simply go to Start - Run and enter \\geta\profiles\<username>.If you'you have already moved the data that you want saved to your Y: drive and/or project space, you can just delete the data out of your profile on the server -- you don't need to move the data again.

After you move and/or delete the data that you want saved, you should re-check the size of your profile. Simply close any property windows that you may have opened and repeat step #1 above. Repeat this process as many times as necessary until your profile is below 500 MB.

CSE Labs Users

1. If you go over quota, the first thing that you need to do is figure out what is taking up the most space in your profile.
   To do this:
   1. Go to C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\
   2. Right click on your username and choose "Properties" from the context menu.
   3. Next, click on the "Size" tab.
   
   
   If the Size tab is not displayed on the computer that you are using, please e-mail operator [at] cs.umn.edu and someone will fix the problem. Please be sure to include the hostname of the machine you are using.
2. Once you know what is taking up the most space in your profile, you will need to move this data to either your "Y:" drive, some form of removable storage, or delete the data from your profile.

Unable to Locate Large Files

CS&E Users

By default, the windows file manager is set so that it does not show hidden folders or files. You can change this by double clicking on My Computer and going to Tools->Folder Options. Then click on the View tab and put a mark next to "Show hidden files and folders". Click the "Apply" button and click "OK".

Potential Profile Problems

There are a number of potential problems with user profiles that can lead to unexpected behavior and the loss of any data stored in the user profile.

• If the roaming profile is unavailable when a user logs in, a default local profile is used. If during this log on session, the network connection to the roaming profile becomes active, when the user logs out the default local profile will overwrite the roaming profile and all previously saved data in the roaming profile is lost.
• If for any reason the profile is not successfully copied at log off, the locally cached copy of the profile is not deleted. The next time the user logs in the roaming profile may fail to load or may be modified by the locally cached copy resulting in unexpected data loss.
• In the event a user is logged in on more than one computer, the profile that is ultimately saved to the server will depend on the time stamps of the NTUSER.DAT files. If the time stamps are the same, the copy saved depends on the order in which the machines successfully log off.
• Because of the vulnerability to data loss, the increase in network traffic and increased log on times, it is strongly recommended that users do not use their roaming profile for any file storage. All CS&E accounts are provided with a home directory that is mounted at log on as the Y: drive. Storing files in your Y: drive will provide better performance and security.
• A number of directories created during log in are not uploaded to the server at log off. This is by design. Data saved to these directories will not follow the user and will eventually be lost. The directories (and their subdirectories) that are not uploaded with roaming profiles are:
• • Local Settings
  • History
  • Temp
  • Temporary Internet Files

Recovery

Often the only practical way of recovering from a corrupted profile is to delete the current profile and allow the system to create a new one. Your profile cannot be deleted while you are logged in. If you would like or need your profile deleted contact the operator for assistance.

In the event that there is something that must be recovered the following methods may be successful.

Roaming profiles are backed up to tape nightly but there is no way to be sure that the local version was successfully copied to the server. Consequently there is no guarantee that data in your profile is going to be recoverable. Files that are backed up on tape can be restored to your home directory.

If you log in and do not get your usual user profile you may be able to recover. Do not log out! Contact the operator and ask them to rename the copy of your profile on the server. At this point you can connect to the server and transfer files that are still in the old profile directory to your home directory.

CSE Labs Users

By default, the windows file manager is set to not show hidden folders or files. You can change this by doing the following:

1. Double click on the "My Computer" icon on the desktop.
2. Select Tools->Folder Options from the menu bar at the top of the "My Computer" window.
3. Click on the "View" tab and put a mark next to the "Show hidden files and folders" option.
4. Click the "Apply" button and then click "OK."