iNode Removal? Hostgator Warning

FatherChristmas Peon

Messages:: 287

Likes Received:: 8

Best Answers:: 0

Trophy Points:: 0

#1

How do I remove my iNode's?

What are they?

Email just received:

Server: gatorxxx
User: xxxxx
Email: Myemail (Owner)
iNodes: 63970 (warning)

Date: Sun Jul 27 00:22:59 CDT 2008
Email: Myemail
Account Name: xxxxx
Server: gatorxxx .hostgator.com
iNodes (Files): 63970/50,000 (127.00%)
Hello,
To maintain the highest level of performance on our shared servers we have a maximum inode (file) limit of 50,000 inodes (files) per account. The size of the file does not matter, only the number of files. For example, a DVD image (say, 4.5gb) only counts as one inode, or file. Our limit, as outlined in our terms of service, is 50,000 files per account. We generally don't hold people strictly to this limit, but at the same time we expect our users to respect the limits of the system. When an account has hundreds of thousands of files, it significantly degrades overall disk performance, as each file on the disk must be tracked/indexed.
An easy analogy would be a table of contents or glossary for a book. If the book only has a few hundred pages, the index or glossary is likely to be small and easy to search. If the book has 5,000 pages, finding what you want might take significantly longer. The file system on a server works in a similar way, just on a larger scale. Our experience has shown that 50,000 files per account is a fair number, and accounts that exceed that by a significant amount cause disk performance issues. This message is to inform you that the listed account has significantly exceeded our limits for disk inodes/files and could potentially lead to disk issues.
It is also important to realize that accounts that exceed the inode (file) limit are not backed up by our courtesy weekly backup service, per section 7b of our Terms of Service. Of course, we advise every user to run their own backups to be safe. Accounts over our the 50,000 inode limit are bypassed so that backups can complete in a timely fashion for everyone. Otherwise, accounts with hundreds of thousands or more inodes will utilize more server resources than other accounts, and could lead to file system errors on our backup servers.
This account will be re-checked again in 7 days to verify it is below 50,000 files. If this account remains above the maximum inode limit after repeated checks, we'll have to review the situation further and advise a course of action. It is critical that one of the following actions take place before that happens:

a) reduce the number of inodes/files. This change must be permanent; if you have a high number of cache files or similar, and you expect them to naturally exceed the inode limit again in the future, the configuration must be changed to limit the total number of cached files.
If you are completely unaware of the source of the inodes, it may be that you have left your default mailbox enabled, and never cleared it. Over time, it can fill up with spam, consuming hundreds of thousands of inodes. If you have a catch-all enabled on your account, this can greatly increase the amount of mail/spam that our account receives and will raise your inode usage quickly unless routinely emptied. If you would like assistance clearing these folders from unwanted email or removing the catch-all from your account, please let us know and we would be happy to assist you.

The default mailbox is located at:
/home/xxxxx /mail/cur
/home/xxxxx /mail/new

b) upgrade to dedicated service, where inode counts are no longer checked. In many cases, accounts that significantly exceed our inode/file limits have simply outgrown the shared environment, and a dedicated server is the logical choice. In many cases, the transfer from a shared to dedicated server will incur no charge. In rare situations, accounts with excessive numbers of accounts or users may require a fee; the transfer department would advise you of that fact prior to the transfer taking place. If you've read this far, it's clear you're serious about taking care of the issue and we can offer you 50% off off the first month's purchase of a dedicated server. To receive the discount, please:
- Reply to this email stating you'd like to upgrade. You will
automatically be assigned a ticket number, which will be
visible in the subject line. You may need to confirm your
email if this is the first time you've ever sent us a
ticket or emailed one of our departments.

- Order a dedicated server:
http://www.hostgator.com/billing/order/orderwiz.php
- Email after placing your order. This
promotion is unadvertised, and must be manually approved.
You must reference the ticket # you receive (above) to
qualify for the discounted rate. This promotion only
applies to dedicated servers priced $ 219.00 or higher.

We thank you for taking the time to resolve this issue. If you have any questions or perhaps you are not sure what could be causing the high number of inodes, we can help you with that. Simply reply to this email and we will be more than happy to assist you.
Click to expand...

FatherChristmas, Jul 26, 2008 IP

pluto459 Active Member

Messages:: 1,221

Likes Received:: 23

Best Answers:: 0

Trophy Points:: 80

#2

welcome to the hostgator bait and switch

they dont want users who use what they offer and when you finally use it they force you to get a semi-ded and then to a dedicated server and then they boot you off.

Been there, done that.

i decided to check my email i use for them and got the same email lol

pluto459, Jul 26, 2008 IP

kailash Well-Known Member

Messages:: 1,248

Likes Received:: 42

Best Answers:: 0

Trophy Points:: 190

#3

iNode stores the information of the file in Linux file system. To reduce the usage of the iNode, just remove the unwanted files from your web space. If you have catch all set in your account then you might have spam mails in it.

kailash, Jul 26, 2008 IP

zacharooni Well-Known Member

Messages:: 346

Likes Received:: 20

Best Answers:: 4

Trophy Points:: 120

#4

pluto459 said: ↑

welcome to the hostgator bait and switch

they dont want users who use what they offer and when you finally use it they force you to get a semi-ded and then to a dedicated server and then they boot you off.

Been there, don that.
Click to expand...

Your post has nothing to do with the OP's email. Hostgator gives you the OPTION of upgrading, but they don't 'force' you to. If you create thousands and thousands of files, and then blatantly ignore the warnings, then yes, you will be flagged, and shooed off.

Here how this works. Every linux box has a limited number of spots for files on the filesystem, called inodes. Even Hostgator. If you go over our limit (50,000), you will be exempted from backups on Sunday when they run. This is clearly explained in the Terms of Service section 7B.

If you are legitimately using all of the space that you are offered, then you'll have no issue. You may get flagged by Security, when they see that you have 500GB of data, but as long as it is valid and not hurting anyone, then it's yours to do with as you please, and they will leave you alone.

zacharooni, Jul 27, 2008 IP

FatherChristmas Peon

Messages:: 287

Likes Received:: 8

Best Answers:: 0

Trophy Points:: 0

#5

See here ... I think out found out how to fix it,

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?p=8645217#post8645217

FatherChristmas, Jul 27, 2008 IP

instamatic Peon

Messages:: 26

Likes Received:: 1

Best Answers:: 0

Trophy Points:: 0

#6

I didn't have any spam emails lurking about on my account, so i can only assume the high inode count was due to multiple wordpress installations, and by removing a few the count dropped dramatically.

But the problem I had was not being able to see how many iNodes (files) i had on my Hostgator account, as the c-panel did not reveal the details anywhere.

I now use a PHP file to show the iNodes on my HostGater account, all that is required is copy & paste below to notepad and save as (inode.php or what ever you want), and upload to the root folder of your account in public_html

Then use a web browser to go to the file and the iNodes count will be displayed
For example: www.yoursite.com/inode.php

<?php
system("/usr/bin/quota | /bin/awk '{ if ( $5 ~ /^[0-9]/) total+=$5 } END {print \"Total Inodes :\" , total}'");
?>
Click to expand...

or this one for more details

<?php
echo "";
system('pwd');
echo ": ";
system('find . | wc -l');
echo " inodes \n";
system('cd ~/public_html; pwd');
echo ": ";
system('cd ~/public_html; find . | wc -l');
echo " inodes \n";
system('cd ~; pwd');
echo ": ";
system('cd ~; find . | wc -l');
echo " inodes";
?>
Click to expand...

Hope this helps ?

instamatic, Jul 29, 2008 IP

Ladadadada likes this.

Gevekay Peon

Messages:: 66

Likes Received:: 1

Best Answers:: 0

Trophy Points:: 0

#7

Even i got this problem...

try deleting some unused files

and mostly from temp directories

ex: /mail/new

Gevekay, Oct 30, 2008 IP

Log in or Sign up

iNode Removal? Hostgator Warning

FatherChristmas Peon

pluto459 Active Member

kailash Well-Known Member

zacharooni Well-Known Member

FatherChristmas Peon

instamatic Peon

Gevekay Peon

Useful Searches