Policy

The scratch space on the Sol supercomputer is a shared storage resource for temporary files and is available to all Sol users. The scratch space provides short-term storage for immediate use during computational jobs. Each user is responsible for limiting their use of scratch storage to minimize the impact on other users. 

The Sol scratch space is not backed up, and ASU Research Computing is not responsible for the deletion or loss of any files from the scratch file system. 

To ensure the best system stability and performance, the scratch directory has a limit of 100TB per user. Under extenuating circumstances, ASU Research Computing may temporarily expand this limit to accommodate specific research needs. These requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and there is no guarantee that all extensions will be granted.

Sol scratch files that have not been accessed for 90 days will be removed from the system. 

ASU Research Computing will notify the file owner, sponsoring PI, and/or Department when files are subject to deletion. 

Files that must be kept longer than 90 days should be moved to a home directory, purchased project storage, or another storage medium. 

Exceptions to this policy will be decided upon in consultation with the Research Computing Governance Board.

Scratch Limitations

The first warning is based on the size of your scratch directory. This message will let you know that you are getting close to the 100TB limit on scratch and need to remove any unnecessary files as soon as possible. The Research computing staff also receives a list of users who are over the quota and will directly reach out after a few days of the directory being too large. If you need to keep more than 100TB of files from scratch, please reach out to us and we can see about creating a temporary project directory for you and your group, that will have a higher quote associated.

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The next warning has to do with the age of files. Sol has a policy in place that will automatically delete any files that have not been accessed in the last 90 days. You will start to see these emails once a week once the files have hit 45 days since they were last accessed. This gives the user 45 days to either use the files, move them, or reach out to research computing to see about getting an extension based on a project or grant need. The email will look something like this.

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With this message, there will be a list of expiring files put in your home directory which can be reviewed at your convenience.

The final message is the same as above, but it is a WARNING. This message will be sent out as the last message before one or more files are deleted. Once you receive this email, you will have less than 7 days to move, delete, or reach out to Research Computing before files are permanently removed from the system.

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