Storage
3 minute read
Storage overview
DAIC provides access to multiple storage areas. Understanding their purposes and limitations is essential for effective work on the cluster.
| Storage | Location | Quota | Purpose | Backup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cluster home | /trinity/home/<NetID> | ~5 MB | Config files only | No |
| Linux home | ~/linuxhome | ~30 GB | Personal files | Yes |
| Project | /tudelft.net/staff-umbrella/<project> | By request | Research data | Yes |
| Group (legacy) | /tudelft.net/staff-groups/<faculty>/<dept>/<group> | Fair use | Shared files | Yes |
| Bulk (legacy) | /tudelft.net/staff-bulk/<faculty>/<dept>/<group> | Fair use | Large datasets | Yes |
| Local temp | /tmp/<NetID> | None | Temporary files | No |
Cluster home directory
Your cluster home (/trinity/home/<NetID>) has a very small quota of approximately 5 MB. This is intentionally limited and meant only for:
- Shell configuration files (
.bashrc,.bash_profile) - SSH keys and config (
.ssh/) - Small application configs
Do not store data here
Store code, data, and large files in project storage or your Linux home. Jobs will fail if your cluster home fills up.Check your cluster home quota:
quota -s
Disk quotas for user <NetID> (uid XXXXXX):
Filesystem space quota limit grace files quota limit grace
control:/trinity/home
528K 4096K 5120K 21 4096 5120
Permission errors
You may see “Permission denied” errors for other filesystems. These can be ignored; your quota is shown at the end.TU Delft network storage
On first login, symlinks are created in your home directory pointing to TU Delft network storage:
Kerberos authentication
TU Delft network storage requires a valid Kerberos ticket. Without it, you will get “Permission denied” or “Stale file handle” errors when accessing linuxhome, windowshome, project, group, or bulk storage.
When logging in via SSH with a password, a Kerberos ticket is created automatically.
When logging in via SSH with a public key or through OpenOndemand, you must manually obtain a ticket:
kinit
Enter your NetID password when prompted.
Check your current ticket status:
klist
Example output with a valid ticket:
Ticket cache: KCM:656519
Default principal: <NetID>@TUDELFT.NET
Valid starting Expires Service principal
03/23/26 11:05:12 03/23/26 21:05:12 krbtgt/TUDELFT.NET@TUDELFT.NET
renew until 03/30/26 12:05:03
First access delay
Network storage locations may take up to 30 seconds to mount on first access. If you get a “Stale file handle” error, wait a moment and try again.Personal storage
~/linuxhome- Your Linux home on TU Delft storage.
These are accessible from DAIC, your TU Delft workstation, and via webdata.
Windows home access
~/windowshome is Your Windows home on TU Delft storage. It may or may not be accessible from DAIC depending on your department’s configuration.Project storage
Project storage is for research data accessible only to project members. Request project storage via the Self-Service Portal.
Access path: /tudelft.net/staff-umbrella/<project-name>
Group storage
Bulk and Group storage are deprecated
Bulk and Group storage are outdated. Use Project storage (staff-umbrella) for new data.Group storage is shared with your department or group. Not suitable for confidential data.
Access paths:
/tudelft.net/staff-groups/<faculty>/<department>/<group>/tudelft.net/staff-bulk/<faculty>/<department>/<group>
Local temporary storage
Each compute node has local /tmp storage for temporary files during job execution.
- No quota, but shared with other users
- Files not accessed for 10 days are automatically deleted
- Not accessible from other nodes
- No backup
Use local storage for intermediate files that do not need to persist after job completion.
Checking disk usage
Check usage of a directory:
du -hs /tudelft.net/staff-umbrella/<project>
37G /tudelft.net/staff-umbrella/<project>
Check available space:
df -h /tudelft.net/staff-umbrella/<project>
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
... 1.0T 38G 987G 4% /tudelft.net/staff-umbrella/<project>