I keep deleting things but still stuck at 2.8GB space

[jumpy]

Code:

Build:        FreeNAS-8.3.0-RELEASE-x64 (r12701M)
Memory:      32GB - 2 x G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB)
Hard Drives:  3x 3TB Seagate Barracuda 7200
Filesystem:  RAID-Z

So I currently have 2.8GB remaining on my server. I try and delete files off of it to make more space and it continues to show the same space. I remember in the past it didn't seem to have this problem. Is it because there's such little space left that it can't remove anything? Or is there a hidden Recycle Bin i have to activate/find? (I've already checked in CIFS and there's definitely no option that I could see)

 

[William Grzybowski]

Do you have snapshots?

zfs list -t snapshot

 

[jumpy]

yes I do. when I typed that into terminal a huge list came up. What do you suggest?

 

[William Grzybowski]

Delete all of them? Better research about what are snapshots?

 

[jumpy]

I looked into how often the snapshots are taken. It seems I had it set to take snapshots every day, pretty much every hour. I changed it to once a week. I also have a couple hundred gigs of snapshots made. I'll read more into what and how to properly set it up when I'm off work today. You say it would be safe to just delete them all?

 

[William Grzybowski]

If you want to reclaim all the space of deleted files you should never had a snapshot, this is how this feature works.

It is safe to delete them. Specially if you dont know what they are for.

 

[jumpy]

I was under the impression snapshots are similar to restore points.

So is there an actual Recycle Bin I should clear as well?

edit: Wow that cleared up 600GB!

 

[titan_rw]

Snapshots take a 'snapshot' of the filesystem as it existed at that time.

So if you copy a large file to freenas, then take a snapshot, then delete the file, you will not gain any freespace back. The file contents are still refered to by the snapshot. If you delete the snapshot, the space is freed, as there are no longer any pointers to the old file.

If you need your space back, simply delete some, or all of your snapshots. If you don't understand how they work, chances are you don't need them.

 

[jumpy]

Okay thanks. I guess I don't need it. I set it up from the advice of someone who helped me set up my server a year ago.