[mythtv-users] Disk Space Problem

Peter Bennett (cats22) cats22 at comcast.net
Sat Nov 3 13:57:50 UTC 2012


On 10/30/2012 04:38 PM, Tom Hayward wrote:
> On Tue, Oct 30, 2012 at 12:49 PM, Michael T. Dean
> <mtdean at thirdcontact.com> wrote:
>> On 10/27/2012 09:39 AM, Peter Bennett (cats22) wrote:
>>> I also wonder how it is deciding which file system to use. The "Balanced
>>> Free Space" scheduler is selected, and according to the documentation
>>> that will allocate recordings on the disk with most free space. Since
>>> all disks are 99% full, the one with the most free space will randomly
>>> depend on the size of the last program expired and what was recorded
>>> since it was expired. I have three files systems of very different sizes
>>> and I expect it to make more use of the largest file system. I don't
>>> think this algorithm will achieve that. It may even select a smaller
>>> file system with nothing expirable on it, and then be unable to complete
>>> the recording, instead of using another file system which may have many
>>> expirable recordings available.
> <snip>
>>>   Or have I
>>> misunderstood how the balanced disk scheduler works?
>>>
>> It's that users with nearly (or completely) full file systems should almost
>> definitely be using either Balanced Disk I/O or Combination Storage Group
>> Disk Scheduler, and not Balanced Free Space.
>>
>> http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Storage_Groups#Storage_Group_Disk_Scheduler
>>
>> As you've seen, Balanced Free Space makes little sense when file systems are
>> nearly full.
>>
>> Mike
> I use the Combination disk scheduler, but I also find it makes
> decisions "randomly depending on the size of the last program expired
> and what was recorded since it was expired" when all other things are
> equal.
>
> For example:
> - 2 filesystems are local
> - Both filesystems are nearly full, #1 is 1 GB less than MythTV's free
> space minimum, #2 is 5 GB less.
> - No recordings or playback in progress
> - Most of the existing recordings are 1 hour programs of similar
> bitrate--almost all are 6 GB.
> - Both disks have auto-expirable recordings, but the recordings on
> disk #1 all happen to have 0 priority, and on disk #2 they all happen
> to have 2 priority.
>
> A recording starts. The Combination disk scheduler will choose
> filesystem #2. By the time the recoding completes, filesystem #2 has
> reached the minimum free space limit and MythTV will expire one of the
> 6 GB priority 2 recordings from filesystem #2. Now there is 5 GB free
> on filesystem #2 again.
>
> An hour later, another recording starts. The combination disk
> scheduler chooses filesystem #2 because it has more free space.
> Another 6 GB priority 2 recording is expired, despite filesystem #1
> being full of lower priority recordings.
>
> The Combination scheduler will continue choosing filesystem #2 until a
> new recording is exactly between 4 and 5 GB (leaving between 0 and 1
> GB available), or simultaneous recordings force the balanced IO part
> of the algorithm possibly filling and expiring something from
> filesystem #1.
>
> So when multiple filesystems are nearly full and there are seldom
> simultaneous recordings, the Combination disk scheduler tends to
> always pick the same filesystem.
>
> If I understand the IO disk scheduler correctly, it will always pick
> the first filesystem if all filesystems are idle (no simultaneous
> recordings or playback). This is no better. I think the IO disk
> scheduler would be better if in the case of equal weights, it randomly
> chose a filesystem.
>
> Or even better: in the case of equal weights, the IO scheduler (or
> possibly a new fourth scheduler) chose the filesystem with the next
> eligible auto expire recording. This way it is choosing filesystems
> based on what will expire next, not what expired last.
>
> Another way to do this would be to incorporate the recordings with the
> lowest priority into the free space calculation, so the scheduler
> would favor filesystems with low priority auto-expirable recordings.
>
> I hope this makes as much sense here as it does in my head :-) Now I
> need to go look at what code would be required to add another disk
> scheduler...
>
> Tom
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>
Thanks everybody for the detailed reply. It confirms what I thought was
happening. I have changed my settings to purge deleted programs after 7
days, now my file system is 60% full and I should not get this problem,
and balanced free space will work better.

Peter


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