Unit 11 Bonus 🍒 (u11b.md)

[TrevorSmale]

** Example Bonus Page **

# 🍒 Storage Troubleshooting Checklist 🛠️💾

When storage issues arise, troubleshooting step by step ensures a quick resolution. This guide flows logically, covering the most common issues you might face, from slow performance to filesystem corruption.

## 🔍 Step 1: Is Storage Performance Slow?
👉 If everything feels sluggish, your disk might be the bottleneck.

### ✅ Check:
```bash
# Monitor disk I/O, latency, and throughput
iostat -xz 1

# Identify processes consuming high I/O
pidstat -d 1

# Real-time disk activity monitoring
iostat -dx 1

• If I/O wait is high, it means the CPU is waiting on slow disk operations.
• If certain processes are consuming all disk bandwidth, they might be the cause.

✅ Fix:

1. Identify and stop unnecessary high I/O processes:

   # Forcefully terminate a process (use with caution)
   kill -9 <PID>

2. Optimize filesystem writes (for ext4):

   # Enable writeback mode for better performance
   tune2fs -o journal_data_writeback /dev/sdX

3. Reduce excessive metadata writes:

   # Disable access time updates and set commit interval
   mount -o noatime,commit=60 /mnt/data

4. If using LVM, extend the volume to reduce fragmentation:

   # Add 5GB to volume
   lvextend -L +5G /dev/examplegroup/lv_data

---

🔍 Step 2: Is the Filesystem Full? ("No Space Left on Device")

👉 Disk space exhaustion is one of the most common causes of storage failures.

✅ Check:

# Show disk usage per filesystem
df -hT

# Find the biggest files
du -ahx / | sort -rh | head -20

• If a filesystem is 100% full, it prevents writes and can cause application crashes.
• If there's space but files still won't write, check Step 4 (Corrupted Filesystem).

✅ Fix:

1. Find and remove large unnecessary files:

   # Remove specific log file
   rm -f /var/log/large_old_log.log

2. Truncate logs safely without deleting them:

   # Clear log contents while preserving file
   truncate -s 0 /var/log/syslog
   
   # Limit journal size
   journalctl --vacuum-size=100M

3. Expand disk space if using LVM:

   # Extend logical volume
   lvextend -L +10G /dev/examplegroup/lv_data
   
   # Resize filesystem
   resize2fs /dev/examplegroup/lv_data  # for ext4
   xfs_growfs /mnt/data                 # for XFS

---

🔍 Step 3: Are Mounts Failing? (LVM, fstab, NFS, SMB)

👉 If files suddenly disappear or applications complain about missing storage, a mount issue may be the cause.

✅ Check:

# View current mounts
mount | grep /mnt/data

# Check block devices
lsblk

# Verify permanent mount configuration
cat /etc/fstab

✅ Fix:

1. Manually remount the filesystem (if missing):

   # Remount all fstab entries
   mount -a

2. Ensure correct fstab entry for persistence:

   # Add to /etc/fstab (replace UUID with actual value)
   UUID=xxx-yyy-zzz /mnt/data ext4 defaults 0 2

3. If an LVM mount is missing after reboot, reactivate it:

   # Activate volume groups
   vgchange -ay
   
   # Mount the logical volume
   mount /dev/examplegroup/lv_data /mnt/data

4. For NFS issues, check connectivity and restart services:

   # Check NFS exports
   showmount -e <NFS_SERVER_IP>
   
   # Restart NFS service
   systemctl restart nfs-server

---

🔍 Step 4: Is the Filesystem Corrupted?

👉 Power losses, unexpected shutdowns, and failing drives can cause corruption.

✅ Check:

# Check kernel error messages
dmesg | grep -i "error"

# Check filesystem integrity (non-destructive)
fsck.ext4 -n /dev/sdX  # for ext4
xfs_repair -n /dev/sdX  # for XFS

✅ Fix:

1. Repair the filesystem (if unmounted):

   # Unmount first
   umount /dev/sdX
   
   # Run filesystem repair
   fsck -y /dev/sdX    # for ext4
   xfs_repair /dev/sdX  # for XFS

2. If corruption is severe, restore from backup:

   # Restore using rsync
   rsync -av /backup/mnt_data /mnt/data/

---

🔍 Step 5: Are You Out of Inodes?

👉 You might have disk space but still can't create files? Check your inodes!

✅ Check:

# Check inode usage
df -i

# Count files in current directory
find . -type f | wc -l

• If inode usage shows 100%, you can't create new files even with free space.
• This happens when you have too many small files.

✅ Fix:

1. Clean up temporary files:

   # Remove old files in /tmp
   rm -rf /tmp/*
   
   # Clean package cache (Debian/Ubuntu)
   apt-get clean

2. Find and remove unnecessary files:

   # List directories with most files
   du -a | sort -n -r | head -n 10