Okay, so I found out (on LQ ) that the command "df" shows biased results. Instead of giving exact values of a file system's total, used and free spaces, it refuses to show 5 % of the existing space on ext2/3 because these 5 % are reserved for system-salvation work by root.

Fine. Now, why does it do that also, when I'm logged in as root? In case root uses the command shouldn't (s)he get shown the amount of space available to root or am I missing something here? Reasom I'm asking is, I want to zero out all non-used space in some partitions...

If the space is reserved, then it isn't being 'used' as such is it?

This is just a feature of this file system type. I'm not an expert on ext2/3 but i believe you will have to leave it as it is...

No, it (the percentage) can be changed with tune2fs -O. Nevertheless, this space can contain (old) data, which I want to wipe. So, when and how can I access this reserved space?

Hi,

df does show the correct amount of (free) space. Normal users do sometimes get a 'no space left on device' message although df shows 5% still being unused (this is the 5% reserved for root).

The 5% is a standard, but can be changed to whatever you want (man tune2fs).

Hope this clears things up a bit.

Point is, logged in as root I get shown the same amount as any "normal" user. So again, when and how can I access the space reserved by the file system for system maintenance?

Hi,

If you are root you have access to this reserved part:

$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/data/tets01
dd: writing to `/data/tets01': No space left on device
$ df | grep hda12
/dev/hda12 4214036 4214036 0 100% /data

Size of tets01: 3509186560

The same thing as normal user you'll end up with:

$ df | grep hda12
/dev/hda12 4214036 3999972 0 100% /data

Size of tets01: 3290198016 (which is a smaller file).

It also shows that root always has access to the reserved space.

Hope this answers your question.

Aha, thank you. I didn't dare that for fear of locking my system. In conclusion that means, that "df" is insensitive to who is just issueing the command, root or normal users...

Which would be system directories on partitions, which should not entirely filled up because of locking the system (like e.g. /var with the log files)?

Its a very good idea to keep this reserved space for root. Say / fills up for some reason, regular users won't be able to login without any available space. If this were the same for root, well, its a hassle to clear up. With the reserved space though, root can login and easily fix the problem..

Yes, I'm aware of that. I'm not entirely sure of the entire list of files and / or directories which need space for system activities as mentioned in my previous post and I'm not as bold as druuna.

Like I said, I wanted to wipe unused space -- reason: When I use partimage, I dont want a huge amount of compressed garbage in the image. That okay ?

Hi,

LOL I'm actually a carefull person (all sysadmins should be....). I took /data 'cause I know that this fs is not being written to atm.

I can only repeat what trickykid mentioned. You could limit the amount of space reserved (5% of a 200 Gb disk is a lot more spare space then 5% on a 20 Gb disk). But personally I would always have some in reserve for root, no matter what.

Okay, okay, okay. Is there a chance to move the allocated free space within a partition, i.e. at first wiping one half of the free space - re-allocating the root reserve into the freshly wiped section - wiping the second half of the space?