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Working with Quotas

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008

By using File Server Resource Manager to create a quota for a volume or folder, you can limit the disk space that is allocated for it. The quota limit applies to the entire folder subtree.

You can create either a hard quota or a soft quota:

  • A hard quota prevents users from saving files after the space limit is reached and generates notifications when the volume of data reaches each configured threshold.

  • A soft quota does not enforce the quota limit but generates all configured notifications.

To determine what happens when the quota limit approaches, you can configure notification thresholds. For each threshold that you define, you can send e-mail notifications, log an event, run a command or script, or generate storage reports. For example, you might want to notify the administrator as well as the user who saved the file, when a folder reaches 85 percent of its quota limit, and then send another notification when the quota limit is reached. In some cases, you might want to run a script that raises the quota limit automatically when a threshold is reached.

When you create a quota on a volume or a folder, you can base the quota on a quota template or use custom properties. We recommend that, whenever possible, you base a quota on a quota template. A quota template can be reused for creating additional quotas and simplifies ongoing quota maintenance.

File Server Resource Manager can also generate quotas automatically. When you configure an auto apply quota, you apply a quota template to a parent volume or folder. A quota based on the template is then created for each of the existing subfolders, and a quota is automatically generated for each new subfolder that is created.

In this section:

  • File Server Resource Manager Quotas vs. NTFS Disk Quotas

  • About Quota Templates

  • Creating a Quota

  • Creating a Quota Template

  • Updating Quotas by Editing a Quota Template

  • Creating an Auto Apply Quota

  • Editing an Auto Apply Quota

  • Monitoring Quota Use

File Server Resource Manager Quotas vs. NTFS Disk Quotas

The following table outlines the advantages of using the quota management tools in File Server Resource Manager over NTFS disk quotas.

Advantages of Using File Server Resource Manager

Quota features File Server Resource Manager NTFS disk quotas

Quota tracking

By folder or by volume

Per user on a volume

Disk usage calculation

Actual disk space

Logical file size

Notification mechanisms

E-mail, custom reports, running commands or scripts, event logs

Event logs only

About Quota Templates

File Server Resource Manager gives you flexibility in creating, using, and managing templates, both for quotas and for file screens.

A quota template defines a space limit, the type of quota (hard or soft), and a set of notifications to be generated when the quota limit approaches or is exceeded.

Quota templates simplify the creation and maintenance of quotas:

  • By using a quota template, you can apply a standard storage limit and a standard set of notification thresholds to many volumes and folders on servers throughout your organization.

  • If you base your quotas on a template, you can automatically update all quotas that are based on a specific template by editing that template. This feature simplifies the process of updating the properties of quotas by providing one central point where all changes can be made.

For example, you can create a User Quota template that you use to place a 200 MB limit on the personal folder of each user. For each user, you would then create a quota based on the User Quota template and assign it to the user’s folder. If you later decide to allow each user additional space on the server, you simply change the space limit in the User Quota template and choose to automatically update each quota that is based on that quota template.

File Server Resource Manager provides several quota templates. For example:

  • You can use the 200 MB Limit Reports to User template to place a hard 200 MB limit on the personal folder of each user.

  • For some folders, you might want to use the 200 MB Limit with 50 MB Extension template to automatically increase the quota limit when a 200 MB quota limit is reached.

  • Other default templates are designed for monitoring disk usage through soft quotas—for example, the Monitor 200 GB Volume Usage template and the Monitor 500 MB Share template. When you use these templates, users can exceed the quota limit, but e-mail and event log notifications are generated when they do so.

To view the default templates, click the Quota Templates node in the File Server Resource Manager console tree.

Creating a Quota

The following procedure guides you through the process of creating a quota that is based on a template, which is recommended practice.

To create a quota that is based on a template

  1. In Quota Management, click the Quota Templates node.

  2. In the Results pane, select the template on which you will base your quota.

  3. Right-click the template and click Create Quota from Template (or click Create Quota from Template in the Actions pane). This opens the Create Quota dialog box with the summary properties of the quota template displayed.

  4. Under Quota path, type or browse to the volume or folder that the quota will apply to.

  5. Click the Create quota on path option. Note that the quota properties will apply to the entire volume or folder.

  6. Under Derive properties from this quota template, the template you used in step 2 to create your new quota is preselected (or you can select another template from the list). Note that the properties of the template are displayed under Summary of quota properties.

  7. Click Create.

Note

If you do not want to base your quota on a template, or if you want to edit the properties copied from a template, in the Create Quota dialog box you can choose Define custom quota properties, and then click Custom Properties. Note that if you create a quota with custom properties, you have the option of saving a quota template with the custom quota settings when you save the new quota. If you choose that option, a new template is saved, and then the template is applied to the new quota so that a link is maintained between the quota and the template.

Creating a Quota Template

The following procedure guides you through the process of creating a new quota template.

To create a quota template

  1. In Quota Management, click the Quota Templates node.

  2. Right-click Quota Templates, and then click Create Quota Template (or click Create Quota Template in the Actions pane).

  3. If you want to copy the properties of an existing template to use as a base for your new template, select a template from the Copy properties from quota template drop-down list. Then click Copy.

  4. In the Template Name text box, enter a name for the new template.

  5. In the Label text box, enter an optional descriptive label that will appear next to any quotas derived from the template.

  6. Under Space Limit:

    1. In the Limit text box, enter a number and choose a unit (KB, MB, GB, or TB) to specify the space limit for the quota.

    2. Click the Hard quota or Soft quota option. (A hard quota prevents users from saving files after the space limit is reached and generates notifications when the volume of data reaches each configured threshold. A soft quota does not enforce the quota limit, but it generates all configured notifications.)

  7. You can configure one or more optional threshold notifications for your quota template, as described in the procedure that follows. After you have selected all the quota template properties that you want to use, click OK to save the template.

Setting optional notification thresholds

When storage in a volume or folder reaches a threshold level that you define, File Server Resource Manager can send e-mail messages to administrators or specific users, log an event, run a command or a script, or generate storage reports. You can configure more than one type of notification for each threshold, and you can define multiple thresholds for any quota (or quota template). By default, no notifications are generated.

Important

To send e-mail notifications and configure the storage reports with parameters that are appropriate for your server environment, you must first set the general File Server Resource Manager options (for more information, see Using File Server Resource Manager in this guide).

To configure notifications for a quota template

  1. In the Create Quota Template dialog box, under Notification thresholds, click Add. The Add Threshold dialog box appears.

  2. To set a quota limit percentage that will generate a notification:

    In the Generate notifications when usage reaches (%) text box, enter a percentage of the quota limit for the notification threshold. (The default percentage for the first notification threshold is 85 percent.)

  3. To configure e-mail notifications, on the E-mail Message tab, set the following options:

    • To notify administrators when a threshold is reached, select the Send e-mail to the following administrators check box, and then enter the names of the administrative accounts that will receive the notifications. Use the format account@domain, and use semicolons to separate multiple accounts.

    • To send e-mail to the person who saved the file that reached the quota threshold, select the Send e-mail to the user who exceeded the threshold check box.

    • To configure the message, edit the default subject line and message body that are provided. The text that is in brackets inserts variable information about the quota event that caused the notification. For example, the [Source Io Owner] variable inserts the name of the user who saved the file that reached the quota threshold. To insert additional variables in the text, place the cursor in the location in the message where you want to insert the variable, select the variable that you want to insert, and then click Insert Variable.

    • To configure additional headers (including From, Cc, Bcc, and Reply-to), click Additional E-mail Headers.

  4. To log an event, on the Event Log tab, select the Send warning to event log check box, and edit the default log entry.

  5. To run a command or script, on the Command tab, select the Run this command or script check box. Then type the command, or click Browse to search for the location where the script is stored. You can also enter command arguments, select a working directory for the command or script, or modify the command security setting.

  6. To generate one or more storage reports, on the Report tab, select the Generate reports check box, and then select which reports to generate. Optionally, you can enter one or more administrative e-mail recipients for the report or e-mail the report to the user who reached the threshold.

Note

Reports are saved in the default location for incident reports, which is indicated on the Report tab. You can modify the default location in the File Server Resource Manager Options dialog box. For more information, see Using File Server Resource Manager in this guide.

  1. Click OK to save your notification threshold.

  2. Repeat these steps if you want to configure additional notification thresholds for the quota template.

Updating Quotas by Editing a Quota Template

When making changes to a quota template, you have the option of extending those changes to quotas that were created using the original quota template. You can choose to modify only those quotas that still match the original template or all quotas that were derived from the original template, regardless of any modifications made to the quotas since they were created. When you reapply a template, all properties in the template overwrite all properties in the quotas—the updates are not limited to the properties that you changed in the quota.

Important

If you choose to apply the changes to all quotas that were derived from the original template, you will overwrite any custom quota properties that you may have created.

To edit quota template properties

  1. In Quota Templates, select the quota template that you want to modify.

  2. Right-click the quota template, and then click Edit Template Properties (or in the Actions pane, under Selected Quota Templates, click Edit Template Properties). This opens the Quota Template Properties dialog box.

  3. Perform all necessary changes. The settings and notification options are identical to those that you can set when you create a quota template. (For more information, see Creating a Quota Template earlier in this guide.) Optionally, you can copy the properties of a different template and modify them for this one.

  4. When you are finished editing the template properties, click OK. This will open the Update Quotas Derived from Template dialog box.

  5. Select the type of update that you want to apply:

    • If you have quotas that have been modified since they were created using the original template, and you do not want to change them, select Apply template only to derived quotas that match the original template. This option will update only those quotas that have not been edited since they were created with the original template.

    • If you want to modify all existing quotas that were created from the original template, select Apply template to all derived quotas.

    • If you want to keep the existing quotas unchanged, select Do not apply template to derived quotas.

  6. Click OK.

Creating an Auto Apply Quota

Auto apply quotas allow you to assign a quota template to a volume or folder and specify that quotas based on that template will be automatically generated and applied to the existing subfolders, as well as to any new subfolders created in the future.

For example, you may define an auto apply quota for subfolders that are created on demand, for roaming profile users or for new users. Every time a new subfolder is created, a new quota entry is automatically generated for that subfolder, using the template defined in the auto apply quota profile of its parent folder. These automatically generated quota entries can then be viewed in the Results pane, under the Quotas node, as individually created quotas, which can be edited and modified separately.

To create an auto apply quota

  1. In Quota Management, click the Quotas node.

  2. Right-click Quotas and then click Create Quota (or click Create Quota in the Actions pane). This opens the Create Quota dialog box.

  3. Under Quota Path, type the name of or browse to the volume or parent folder that the quota profile will apply to. The auto apply quota will be applied to each of the subfolders (current and future) in this volume or folder.

  4. Click Auto apply template and create quotas on existing and new subfolders.

  5. Under Derive properties from this quota template, select the quota template that you want to apply from the drop-down list. Note that the properties for each template are displayed under Summary of quota properties.

  6. Click Create.

Note

You can verify all automatically generated quotas by opening the Quotas node and then clicking Refresh. An individual quota for each subfolder and the auto apply quota profile in the parent volume or folder are listed. Also, you can click Filter at the top of the Results pane, and then select to display only auto apply quotas.

Editing an Auto Apply Quota

When making changes to an auto apply quota, you have the option of extending those changes to existing quotas in the auto apply quota path. You can choose to modify only those quotas that still match the original auto apply quota, or all quotas in the auto apply quota path, regardless of any modifications made to the quotas since they were created. Since auto apply quotas are based on quota templates, any specific property changes have to be created either in the quota template used for the original auto apply quota or by creating a new quota template with the desired properties. For more information about how to modify an existing quota template, see Updating Quotas by Editing a Quota Template earlier in this guide.

Note

If you choose to apply the changes to all quotas in the auto apply quota path, you will overwrite any custom quota properties that you may have created.

To edit an auto apply quota

  1. In Quotas, select the auto apply quota that you want to modify.

Note

To list only auto apply quotas, click Filter at the top of the Results pane, and then select to display only auto apply quotas.

  1. Right-click the auto apply quota that you want to modify, and then click Edit Quota Properties (or in the Actions pane, under Selected Quotas, click Edit Quota Properties). This opens the Edit Auto Apply Quota dialog box.

  2. Under Derive properties from this quota template, select the new quota template that you want to apply. You can review the properties of each quota template in the summary list box.

  3. Click OK. This will open the Update Quotas Derived from Auto Apply Quota dialog box.

  4. Select the type of update you want to apply:

    • If you have quotas that have been modified since they were automatically generated, and you do not want to change them, select Apply auto apply quota only to derived quotas that match the original auto apply quota. This option will update only those quotas in the auto apply quota path that have not been edited since they were automatically generated.

    • If you want to modify all existing quotas in the auto apply quota path, select Apply auto apply quota to all derived quotas.

    • If you want to keep the existing quotas unchanged but make the modified auto quota effective for new subfolders in the auto apply quota path, select Do not apply auto apply quota to derived quotas.

  5. Click OK.

Monitoring Quota Use

In addition to the information included in notifications, you can find out about quota usage by viewing quotas in Quota Management, by generating a Quota Usage report, or by creating soft quotas for the purpose of monitoring overall disk usage.

Viewing quota information

To view quota information in File Server Resource Manager, in the console tree, click Quota Management, and then click Quotas.

  • In the Results pane, you can quickly find out the quota limit, the percentage of the limit that is used, whether the quota is hard or soft, and other quota attributes.

    • Click Filter at the top of the Results pane to limit the display to regular or auto apply quotas, or to quotas that affect a specific path.

    • Click a column header to group quotas by that attribute.

  • To find out additional information about a quota, click the quota. The description area at the bottom of the Results pane lists the peak usage and notes the remaining space available on the volume on which the quota was created.

  • To view all quotas whose limits apply to a specific volume or folder, right-click the quota of interest (identified by its path) in the Results pane, and click View Quotas Affecting Folder. The Results pane shows the filtered list of applicable quotas.

    -Or-

    To filter the Results pane display to the quotas that affect a specific path:

    1. Click Filter at the top of the pane.

    2. In the Quota Filter dialog box, under Quotas affecting path, click either the Parents of the following folder option or the Children of the following folder option.

    3. Enter or browseto the path.

    4. Click OK.

Quota Usage report

Use the Quota Usage report to identify quotas that may soon be exceeded so that you can take the appropriate action. For instructions on generating a Quota Usage report, see Generating Storage Reports later in this guide.

Templates for monitoring disk usage

To monitor overall disk usage, you may also want to create soft quotas for volumes or shares. File Server Resource Manager provides the following default templates that you can use (or adapt) for this purpose: the Monitor 200 GB Volume Usage template and the Monitor 500 MB Share template.