Why Do I Get the Error "No space left on device" When I Create a File on a Linux ECS?

Symptom

When you create a file on a Linux ECS, the error message "No space left on device" is displayed.

Possible Causes

• The block usage on the disk reaches 100%.
• The inode usage on the disk reaches 100%.
• Certain disk space is not freed up because there are unreleased file handles.
• The value of fs.inotify.max_user_watches has been reached.

100% Block Usage

Run the following command to view the disk space usage:

df -h

If information similar to the following is displayed, the blocks have been used up.

Solution: Expand the capacity of the disk.

100% Inode Usage

Run the following command to view the inode usage:

df -i

If information similar to the following is displayed, the inodes have been used up.

Solution: Expand the capacity of the disk.

Space Occupied by Deleted Files

1. Run the df -h command to check whether the block usage reaches 100%.
2. Run the df -i command to check whether the inode usage is relatively low, for example 1%, as shown in the following figure.
3. Run the du -sh command to view the total disk space used by files. You may notice that there is a significant difference between the usage space and available space.

   

Solution

1. Run the following command to list deleted files whose handles are still held open by processes:

   lsof |grep delete

   

2. Run the following command to stop these processes one at a time:

   kill -9 Process ID

   

inotify Watch Limit Reached

If inotify watches are used up, "No space left on device" will be displayed.

Solution

1. Run the following command to edit the /etc/sysctl.conf file:

   vi /etc/sysctl.conf

2. Add the following content to the file:

   fs.inotify.max_user_watches = 524288

3. Run the following command for the modification to take effect:

   sysctl -p

   inotify is used to monitor file system events. By default, a maximum of 8192 files can be watched for each real user ID. You can run the following command to obtain the current limit:

   cat /proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_watches

   

   If the limit is too low to watch all files, increase the limit.