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Difference in space usage displayed by a quota report and a Linux client

The value of used disk space that is displayed in a quota report for a FlexVol volume or qtree can be different from the value displayed by a Linux client for the same volume or qtree. The difference in usage values is because of the difference in methods followed by the quota report and the Linux commands for calculating the data blocks in the volume or qtree.

For example, if a volume contains a file that has empty data blocks (to which data is not written), the quota report for the volume does not count the empty data blocks while reporting the space usage. However, when the volume is mounted on a Linux client and the file is shown as the output of the ls command, the empty data blocks are also included in the space usage. Therefore, the ls command displays a higher file size when compared to the space usage displayed by the quota report.

Similarly, the space usage values shown in a quota report can also differ from the values shown as a result of Linux commands such as df and du.

  • How a quota report accounts for disk space and file usage
    The number of files used and the amount of disk space specified in a quota report for a FlexVol volume or a qtree depend on the count of the used data blocks corresponding to every inode in the volume or the qtree.
  • How the ls command accounts for space usage
    When you use the ls command to view the contents of a FlexVol volume mounted on a Linux client, the file sizes displayed in the output could be lesser or more than the space usage displayed in the quota report for the volume depending on the type of data blocks for the file.
  • How the df command accounts for file size
    When you run the df command from the mount point of a qtree for which a quota rule is configured, the output of the command shows the same space usage as the value specified by the quota report.
  • How the du command accounts for space usage
    When you run the du command to check the disk space usage for a qtree or FlexVol volume mounted on a Linux client, the usage value might be higher than the value displayed by a quota report for the qtree or volume.