Episode 21 — Capacity vs inodes: disk full when it isn’t, and the mental checklist
Linux+ frequently tests “disk full” scenarios because the correct answer depends on what is actually exhausted. This episode explains capacity versus inodes as two separate resources a filesystem can run out of: capacity is the storage space for data blocks, while inodes are the metadata objects that represent files and directories. When inodes are exhausted, you can see “No space left on device” even though capacity appears available, and exam questions often hide this in symptoms like a system that can’t create new small files despite showing free gigabytes. You’ll learn a mental checklist that starts by defining the failure precisely—what operation fails, where it fails, and whether the error is consistent across directories—so you avoid treating every “full disk” as the same problem.
we apply the checklist to troubleshooting decisions and prevention practices. You’ll practice identifying inode exhaustion patterns, such as directories filled with tiny files (spool queues, cache directories, or high-churn application logs), and you’ll learn how to reason about which cleanup actions are safe versus destructive. We also cover how capacity issues can be misleading when large files are deleted but space is not reclaimed due to open file handles, which can show up as “I deleted logs and nothing changed.” The episode emphasizes exam-aligned best practices: monitor both capacity and inode usage, define retention policies for high-churn paths, and validate the real constraint before resizing storage so you solve the problem rather than just moving it. Produced by BareMetalCyber.com, where you’ll find more cyber audio courses, books, and information to strengthen your educational path. Also, if you want to stay up to date with the latest news, visit DailyCyber.News for a newsletter you can use, and a daily podcast you can commute with.
