Disk space policy
This is the lab disk space policy and applied to those with ssh access to our cluster only. This policy applies to cluster 2 and will be applied to cluster 0 and cluster 1 as soon as we can manage it.
Home, Work, Db, Store
You have an account on the cluster. We ask you to observe the following disk usage policy. We think this policy will cover 90% of the users, 90% of the time. We do understand that research can have unanticipated needs, and we are willing to work with you to create something sensible.
When you log in, you are in your home directory. This would normally be /nfs/home/<userid>. Lab tradition is to have a ~/code/ directory for all software and a ~/work/ directory for all of your research. Your home directory is backed up weekly, and has a default quota of 500GB. We will consider a one time increase to 1TB if asked.
If you require more than your quota for ~/work/, we will create a special directory for you, e.g. /nfs/work/<userid>, which we suggest you symlink to ~/work/. /nfs/work will never be backed up. We recommend you repatriate key files from time to time from /nfs/work/<userid> to e.g. ~/worksave/. We can help you write scripts to automate this.
If you create database files that persist and are larger than your quota, ask us to create dedicated space for you, e.g. /nfs/db/<userid>. Database files are backed up on demand or quarterly.
If you have large files from the synchrotron, ask us to create dedicated space for you, e.g. /nfs/store/<userid>. Storage files are backed up on demand or quarterly.
If after using /nfs/db, /nfs/work and /nfs/store to offload from /nfs/home/ you still need more space, please work with the sysadmins to help you.
Summary
We back up home directories weekly, and selected database, crystallography and other archived files quarterly. We do not back up /nfs/work files. To backup work files, you must repatriate the key files to your home directory whence they will be backed up as part of normal procedures.
Our backup systems cannot keep up with the growth in disk space and the voracious appetite for disk of group members. This is a pragmatic policy that, while requiring a little organization, is more likely to deliver restored files you can actually rely on.
As always, we welcome feedback.
| Name | Location | Quota | Backup? | Usage |
| Home | /nfs/home/<userid> | 500 GB -> 1TB | Weekly | General use - not large database and not docking runs. |
| Work | /nfs/work/<userid> | 2TB (or ask) | Never | Docking runs or calculations that produce large output |
| DB | /nfs/db/<userid> | 2TB (or ask) | Quarterly or on demand | Database files, often persistent, rarely modifed |
| Store | /nfs/store/<userid> | 2TB (or ask) | Quarterly or on demand | Crystallography files or other archived files, rarely modified. |