13.2.3. Keeping Quotas Accurate
Whenever a file system is not unmounted cleanly (due to a system crash, for example), it is necessary to run
quotacheck
. However, quotacheck
can be run on a regular basis, even if the system has not crashed. Running the following command periodically keeps the quotas more accurate (the options used have been described in Section 13.1.1, “Enabling Quotas”):
quotacheck -avug
The easiest way to run it periodically is to use
cron
. As root, either use the crontab -e
command to schedule a periodic quotacheck
or place a script that runs quotacheck
in any one of the following directories (using whichever interval best matches your needs):
/etc/cron.hourly
/etc/cron.daily
/etc/cron.weekly
/etc/cron.monthly
The most accurate quota statistics can be obtained when the file system(s) analyzed are not in active use. Thus, the cron task should be schedule during a time where the file system(s) are used the least. If this time is various for different file systems with quotas, run
quotacheck
for each file system at different times with multiple cron tasks.
Refer to Chapter 34, Automated Tasks for more information about configuring
cron
.