Linux Labs: Filesystem storage on /local.hd/preserve

This document describes local hard drive space policies on CAE's linux lab machines.

Background

CAE's tux linux lab machines are maintained using an rsync golden image technique. Thus each machine's local differences are overwritten nightly to maintain a consistent system across all the lab machines.

Temporary Local Machine Storage

There are a few exceptions to this. In particular, each machine has a /local.hd/preserve space that users can use to temporarily store data or use as scratch space for Condor jobs. This space is unique to each lab machine however, and is not synchronized across lab machines.

Retention Policies

It should be noted that the space is not backed up nor is it preserved if a machine has to be reinstalled. Additionally, inactive data is purged after 7-21 days, depending upon how much free space is available.