18.4 Managing User Space Quotas

User space quotas are the space restrictions you optionally set for users of an NSS volume where the User Space Quotas attribute is enabled. The Users with Quotas page of the Storage plug-in reports the quota setting and space usage for each user who has space restrictions in place for a specified volume, whether the user has data stored on the volume or not.

This section discusses the following:

18.4.1 Enabling Users for File Ownership (Linux)

User space quotas are available on NetWare and on OES SP1 Linux and later. Before you set user space quotas on Linux, you must Linux-enable the users with Linux User Management so that file ownership can be tracked and space consumption can be enforced. For information about how access differs for NSS volumes on OES Linux as compared to OES NetWare, see Section 6.3, Access Control Issues for NSS on OES Linux.

For information about installing and configuring Linux User Management and enabling users and groups for Linux, see the Novell Linux User Management Technology Guide for OES .

If you Linux-enable a user who has previously logged in to the system, you must execute the resetidcache command from the NSS Console ( nsscon) utility afterwards to allow the proper reporting of ownership. The resetidcache command resets the mapping of user identities in the ID cache and forces it to update with the Linux UID for the user.

18.4.2 Setting the User Space Quotas Attribute for an NSS Volume

You can view and modify attribute settings for the User Space Quotas attribute at any time.

  1. In iManager, click Storage>Volumes.

    For instructions, see Section 3.1.6, Accessing Roles and Tasks in iManager.

  2. Select a server to manage to view a list of its volumes.

    For instructions, see Section 3.1.7, Selecting a Server to Manage.

  3. In the Volumes list, select a volume that you want manage, then wait for the page to refresh to view its details.

  4. Click Properties.

    The Properties page has three tabs: Attributes, Statistics, and Volume Quota. It opens to the Attributes tab.

  5. On the Attributes tab, select (enable) or deselect (disable) the User Space Quotas check box, then click Apply.

18.4.3 Viewing User Space Quotas

As the Admin user or an equivalent user, you can view and configure user space quotas in the Storage plug-in for iManager. Users can view their own user quotas and space usage statistics, but they cannot modify the quota settings.

The Users with Quotas page reports the quota setting and space usage for each user who has space restrictions in place for a specified volume, whether the user has data stored on the volume or not. The All Users page reports the current usage of all users on the volume who have data stored on the volume, whether the users have a quota on the volume or not.

The Users with Quotas report and All Users report include the following information:

Table 18-1 Report of User Space Quotas

Parameter

Description

User Name

The distinguished user name. For example: userid.context, jsmith.geo.example, asantiago.example

Quota

Indicates the amount of space in MB that the user can use on the selected volume. The user’s data can grow only to the size of the quota or to the amount of available physical space on the volume, whichever is less.

NSS allocates space only as needed. You can set user quotas that total more than the total available space on the volume. This is called overbooking. However, you cannot set any single quota to be greater than the volume size.

Used

Reports the current amount of space used by the user's data in all directories combined on the specified volume. Reports the current amount of space used by the user's data in all directories combined on the specified volume.

Available

Reports the free, unused space within the user’s quota for the specified volume. Because of overbooking, other users might be competing for a portion of this space.

Viewing User Quotas as the Admin User

  1. Log in to iManager as the Admin user or equivalent user.

  2. In iManager, click Storage>User Quotas.

  3. Click the Volume browser, then select the volume that you want to manage.

    Wait for the page to refresh to see the user space restrictions for all users with quotas for the selected volume.

    Sample Users with Quotas Page for User Quota Management on an NSS Volume

  4. To view all users (with or without quotas) who have data stored on that volume, click All Users.

Viewing User Quotas as an Individual User

  1. Log in to iManager as an individual user with your eDirectory username and password.

  2. In iManager, click Storage>User Quotas.

  3. Click the Volume browser, then select the volume that you want to manage.

    Wait for the page to refresh to see the individual user’s space restrictions for the selected volume on the Users with Quotas page.

    Sample Users with Quotas Page for User Quota Management on an NSS Volume

18.4.4 Configuring a User Space Quota

The Admin user or equivalent user can configure the user space quota for one user or multiple users at a time.

  1. In iManager, click Storage>User Quotas, then select the volume you want to manage.

  2. Click New to open the Add User Quota dialog box.

    Sample Add User Quota Wizard

  3. Click the Browse icon to open the User object list, then browse to select one or more users who you want to share the same quota.

  4. In User Quotas, specify the upper limit of storage space that you want to assign to each of the selected users.

  5. Use the Units drop-down list to select the units to use for the quota you specified in Step 4. Options are bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes.

  6. Click Finish to apply the quota, or click Cancel to back out of the transaction.

    Each of the usernames you selected now has user space quotas assigned to it.

18.4.5 Modifying a User Space Quota

The Admin user or equivalent user can modify the quota for one user or multiple users at a time. Modify the current quotas for the selected users by setting a new quota for all users, increasing each quota by the same amount, or decreasing each quota by the same amount.

  1. In iManager, click Storage>Volumes, select a server, then select the volume you want to manage.

  2. Click Quotas>Users with Quotas.

  3. Open the Edit User Quotas dialog box by doing one of the following:

    • Single User: Select the name link for the user.

    • Multiple Users: Select the User check box next to one or more user names whose user space quota you want to delete, then click Edit.

  4. Specify the change that you want to apply to each of the selected users by doing one of the following:

    • Modify Quota: Specify a value to set each selected user's quota to the specified value, such as 200 MB.

    • Increase Quota: Use a plus (+) with the value to increase each selected user's quota by that amount, such as +50 MB.

      If any individual quota or the total of all quotas exceeds the volume size, the increase is processed, because space is allocated to the users as needed, on a first-come-first-served basis.

      If you attempt to increase the quota for a user with an Unlimited quota, no changes are made for that user's quota. The setting remains Unlimited.

    • Decrease Quota: Use a minus (-) with the value to decrease each selected user's quota by that amount, such as -20 MB.

      If a reduction takes a user's quota to 0 MB, then the user is fully restricted. The user cannot add any new files no matter how many existing files are deleted. To remove the restriction, set a non-zero quota or delete the quota for the user.

      If a reduction takes a user's quota to a negative value, then an error message reports the quota as an Invalid Quota. You must repeat the process to set a valid quota for the user.

  5. Use the Units drop-down list to select the units to use for the quota you specified in Step 4. Options are bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes.

  6. Click Finish.

    Each of the users you selected now has the new user quota assigned to his or her individual account on this volume.

18.4.6 Deleting a User Space Quota

The Admin user or equivalent user can delete the user space quota for one or multiple users. Deleting the user space quota for a user removes the space restriction for the user on the selected volume. Of course, any directory quotas or volume quotas still apply.

  1. In iManager, click Storage>User Quotas, then select the volume you want to manage.

  2. Select the User check box next to one or more user names whose user space quota you want to delete, then click Delete.

  3. Do one of following:

    • To confirm, click Yes to remove the quotas. The user accounts no longer have quotas assigned to them for the selected volume.

    • To back out of the process, click No.

To remove all user space quotas on the volume at the same time, you can simply disable the User Space Quota attribute for the volume. For information about disabling the attribute, see Section 18.4.2, Setting the User Space Quotas Attribute for an NSS Volume.

18.4.7 Configuring User Space Quotas for Users Who Were Not Initially Enabled for Linux Access (Linux)

Users who are not enabled for Linux access with Linux User Management can work on NSS volumes through NCP clients and Web-based file services, such as NetStorage. Files created by these users are not counted against user space quotas because the system cannot map file ownership between POSIX and eDirectory. All newly created files are owned by the root user. For information, see Section 6.3, Access Control Issues for NSS on OES Linux.

If you have created an NSS volume on an OES Linux server or moved a volume from NetWare to OES Linux, and you did not enable volume users for Linux prior to allowing users to access the volume, be aware of the following points:

  • File ownership for files initially created on NSS volumes while on NetWare servers remains intact.

  • Files created on OES Linux servers by users who are not enabled for Linux access are owned by the root user.

    This applies both to files on newly created NSS volumes and to files on NSS volumes moved from NetWare servers.

  • User space quotas in force while an NSS volume was on a NetWare server are no longer in force after the volume is moved to OES Linux.

If you decide to assign user space quotas to users who created files on an NSS volume while they were not enabled for Linux access, you must do the following:

  1. Disconnect any connected users you are enabling for Linux access while you are working.

    Some methods to do this are:

    • Request that the users log out until you are done, then notify them when it is safe to reconnect.

    • Remove file system access rights to the volume for the affected users to prevent access while you are working, then add the rights back when you are done. This is easier, of course, if all of the users involved have file system access rights granted through a group assignment so that you remove and add rights for the group instead of each individual user at a time.

    • Allow the users to remain logged in until you are done, then reboot the server to break their connections. When users log in again, the user quotas are enforced.

  2. In iManager, use the Linux User Management plug-in to Linux-enable the user.

  3. Use either of the following methods to change ownership of any files that the user normally uses that were previously assigned to the root user as owner:

    • Use the Novell Client to modify ownership of those files.

    • At the server’s shell prompt, log in as the root user, then use the chown command to modify file ownership.

    IMPORTANT:Directories and files that were created while users were not Linux enabled are owned by the root user and are not counted against the user space quotas you set unless you reassign file ownership to the individual users.

  4. Establish quotas for each user by following the instructions in Section 18.4.4, Configuring a User Space Quota.

  5. At the server’s shell prompt, start the nsscon utility and run the resetidcache command.

    This is required for displaying the correct owner name. Otherwise, the owner is listed as Nobody.

  6. Verify the user’s file ownership from a Linux interface. At the server’s terminal command prompt, log in as the root user, then use the ls command to list the files in the user’s directory.

  7. Activate the volume for user access by following the instructions in Section 13.15, Mounting and Dismounting an NSS Volume (Linux).

  8. Notify users that they can reconnect to the volume.