File Systems on MOGON I and II
Filesystem Overview
This distinction however is not absolute: The GPFS contents of the MOGON I project directories are exposed to Mogon II by means of NFS (Network File System), which is true for the home directory in particular.
Note that the other direction (exposing MOGON II's content to MOGON I) is intended, but not realized, yet.
Also note, that the different file systems and networks carry different properties, resulting in yet different best practices. These are outlined in the file system entries in this wiki.
The HOME-Directory
The HOME directory on MOGON I for each user is a link to /gpfs/fs1/home/<username> visible as /home/<username>. On MOGON II this is the same directory, exposed by NFS.
Purpose and Characteristics
Whilst the project directories (resp. their underlying file systems) are optimized for I/O of many big files, the home directory obviously cannot match this property: Small scripts, configuration files, aggregated results, etc. – this is what a home directory is for. Put negatively, this requires two restrictions or policies: The home directory is not for heavy I/O1), particularly not on MOGON II, as it is exposed via NFS to this cluster.
Looking on it the other way around, scripts, code, config files, small text files may go here, without second thoughts.
- One million files per user
- a quota of 300 GiB.
Project Directories on MOGON I
On MOGON I a project may ask for a project directory. These directories are linked as /project/<projectname> and may physically reside on different file systems. For quotas see our quota section.
- Project directories should hold data relevant for a particular project. All data shared by members of this project should go here - it can and should be exchanged this way, to work collaboratively. Also, common data should only be stored once (e.g. reference data of a project) and not multiple times. If for your convenience you need several places, use soft links.
- These directories may hold self-compiled software of a group. However, please check for a software's availability as a module first or ask for a software to be installed in an optimized fashion.
- The gpfs file system of project directories is optimized for parallel I/O and big files2) in contrast to the home directories (see above).
Project Directories on MOGON II
The project directory on MOGON II currently resides under /lustre/miifs01/project/<projectname>. An analogous link to /m2_project/<projectname> as on MOGON I is intended, but not yet realized.
Purpose
The purpose of this filesystem (and the related mountpoint) obviously is to place all data relevant to the project, which is not volatile (in contrast to the scratch filesystem, see below).
Quota
See our quota page for further information.
Scratch on MOGON II
The scratch filesystem on MOGON II currently resides under /lustre/miifs03/scratch/<projectname>.
Purpose
The purpose of this filesystem (and the related mountpoint) obviously is to place all data relevant to the project, which is volatile (in contrast to the project filesystem, see above).
Rules & Quota
Currently, there is no quota. Data can be deleted at any time, yet:
The only current policy is:
- When the file system usage crosses a certain threshold (70 % full), files will be deleted automatically.
- The deletion will start with the oldest files.