AFS Quotas

People across campus use their AFS space for anything from personal storage and websites to running applications from the OIT Linux labs.

In any case, everyone has a limit to how much information they can have saved in their directory. Often over time, users build up files within their directory without realizing it, then they experience difficulties using or accessing their AFS space.

The following information can help you determine your AFS quota, and clean up or prevent problems associated with your AFS directory.

For most of the following steps, a Secure Shell Client (SSH) will be required. 

How to check your AFS quota

To check the quota on your acpub account:

  1. Start an SSH client such as F-Secure.
  2. Log in to your acpub account using your NetID and password.
  3. At the prompt, type fs lq.
  4. Press ENTER. The total quota and used amount (in kilobytes), used percentage, and percentage available will be displayed.

TIP: 'fs' means 'file system' and 'lq' means 'list quota'

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How to check the size of an AFS directory or file

To check the size of an acpub directory or file:

  1. Start any SSH client.
  2. Log in to your acpub account using your NetID and password.
  3. At the prompt, type du -k followed by the directory or file name.

    EXAMPLE: du -k public_html

  4. Press ENTER. The size of the selected directory or file will be displayed.

TIP: 'du' means 'disk usage' and 'k' means 'kilobytes'

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How to check for large or old files in an AFS directory

  1. Log into your AFS account via SSH.
  2. At the command prompt, type:

    bigfiles <kilobytes>

    where <kilobytes> is the number of kilobytes you want to set as your minimum. This command is used to request all files in the current directory that are bigger than 'X' kilobytes.

    EXAMPLE: To see all the files in your current directory that are bigger than 3 megabytes (3,000 kilobytes), type:

    bigfiles 3000

  3. Alternatively, you also can type the following command at the prompt:

    oldfiles <months>

    where <months> is the number of months back that you want to start looking. This command is used to request all the files that are older than 'Y' months.

    EXAMPLE: To see all the files in your current directory that are older than 6 months, type: oldfiles 6
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How to delete core files

If you are exceeding the quota (disk space) on your AFS account, you can free up some space by cleaning out your account. It's good practice to clean your account regularly.

A core file is generated on your acpub account when an application, for example, Internet Explorer, quits unexpectedly. OIT recommends you remove any core files from your acpub account. Core files can be used for debugging, but generally are of no use to end users. You can delete them safely.

To remove core files:

  1. Use an SSH client to log into your acpub account.
  2. At the Unix prompt, type:

    cd

  3. Press ENTER. You are now in your home directory.
  4. At the Unix prompt, type:

    ls

  5. Press ENTER. The files in your home directory will be listed. Core files are named 'core'.
  6. Type

    rm core

  7. Press ENTER. The core files will be removed.
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How to clear your Web browser cache

While browsing the Internet, images and other material is cached to the account. We recommend that you clear any browser cache regularly to prevent this cache from causing issues with your AFS quota.

To clean your Firefox cache:

  1. Start Firefox.
  2. From the Tools menu, select Options.
  3. In the Options window, under Privacy, click the Cache tab.
  4. Click Clear Cache Now.
  5. Click OK.

For any other browsers, please contact the OIT Service Desk at (919) 684-2200.

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