User Storage

User Storage on SeaWulf

Note: Each user has two main storage locations: /gpfs/home and /gpfs/scratch. These serve different purposes and have different policies.

Storage Locations

Path Quota / Policy Usage
/gpfs/home/<netid> 20 GB, backed up
  • Your permanent storage space.
  • Use for scripts, source code, and small files.
  • Backed up regularly. Best place for important data.
/gpfs/scratch/<netid> 20 TB, 30-day purge
  • Temporary, high-capacity space for large files and datasets.
  • Not backed up. Files are automatically deleted after 30 days.
  • Best for intermediate results, checkpoints, or scratch data.

Best Practices

  • Keep critical files in /gpfs/home, since it is backed up.
  • Use /gpfs/scratch for large or temporary data to avoid filling your home directory.
  • Move results you want to keep from /gpfs/scratch before the 30-day purge.
  • Do not run heavy jobs out of /gpfs/home. Scratch is optimized for performance.