Re: Elastic Quota File System (EQFS)

["Fao, Sean" <Sean.Fao@dynextechnologies.com>]

>>A better option in this case is to reduce the default size of Mozilla's 
>>cache or expand the size of the quota for each user to deal with the added 
>>space requirements.
>>
>>If you are concerned about disk usage from caches, you can always create 
>>a script that removes the cache(s) when the user logs out.
>>    
>>
>
>That's not the right thing.. that way you loose caching effects around
>logins even when there's plenty of space.
>
>There's quite a lot of data -- at least on my systems -- that can be
>removed with "only" loss of performance...
>
>1) browser caches
>
>2) package lists, downloaded packages
>
>3) object files
>
>heck, if you know you have reliable network connection 4), you could
>even mark stuff like /usr/bin/mozilla elastic, and re-install it from
>the network when it is needed... Doing anything more complex than 1)
>requires extensive changes all around the kernel and userland, and
>you'd probably not call that system unix any more.
>  
>
All the suggested benefits listed above could easily be implemented in a 
script.  For instance, one could design a script that checks the amount 
of disk space at logout.  If the amount of disk space remaining is less 
than X (where X is value predefined by an administrator), the script 
could _suggest_ that corrective action be taken and allow the *user* to 
_decide_ what he/she wants to delete/move.

In a workstation environment, my honest opinion is that quota's are set 
entirely too low if you're running that close to your limit.  On a 
server, I do not see deleting files at the decision of the OS, to be 
beneficial.  Nor do I see any reason to develop the suggested FS to 
implement what should be taken care of by a knowledgeable administrator.

The idea of an elastic file system is interesting until you start 
considering how it would be implemented and what affects it would have 
in a production environment.

Sean