The following sections discuss how to use and
manage disk quotas. Disk quotas enable you to manage disk space usage,
and they are configured on a per volume basis. Only NTFS file system
(NTFS) volumes can have quotas, so you can't create them for file
allocation table (FAT16 or FAT32) volumes. The first step in
configuring quotas is to enable disk quota policies. Once you configure the necessary policies, you can set up quotas for specific volumes on a system.
Using Disk Quotas
Administrators use disk quotas to manage disk
space usage for critical volumes, such as those that provide corporate
or user data shares. When you enable disk quotas, you set a disk quota
limit and a disk quota warning. The disk quota limit sets the maximum
space usage (which prevents users from writing additional information
to a volume), logs events regarding the user exceeding the limit, or
both. You use the disk quota warning to warn users and to log warning
events when users approach their disk quota limits.
| Real World |
Although most administrators configure quotas
that are enforced, you can set disk quotas that are not enforced. You
might wonder why you would do this.
Sometimes you might want to track disk space usage on a per user basis
and know when users have exceeded some predefined limit. Instead of
denying the users additional disk space, however, you can track the
overage by recording an event in the application log.
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Disk quotas apply only to end users, not to
administrators. Administrators can't be denied disk space even if they
exceed enforced disk quota limits. Disk quota limits and warnings can
be set in kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB), terabytes
(TB), petabytes (PB), and exabytes (EB). In a typical environment,
you'll restrict disk space usage in megabytes or gigabytes. For
example, on a corporate data share that is used by multiple users in a
department, you might want to limit disk space usage to 20 to 100 GB.
For a user data share, you might want to set the level much lower, such
as 5 to 20 GB, restricting the user from creating large amounts of
personal data. Often you'll set the disk quota warning as a percentage
of the disk quota limit. For example, you could set the warning at 90
to 95 percent of the disk quota limit.
Because disk quotas are tracked on a per volume, per
user basis, disk space used by one user does not affect the disk quotas
for other users. Thus, if one user exceeds his limit, any restrictions
applied to this user don't apply to other users. For example, if a user
exceeds a 5 GB disk quota limit and the volume is configured to prevent
writing over the limit, the user can no longer write data to the
volume. However, he can remove files and folders from the volume to
free up disk space. The user could also move files and folders to a
compressed area on the volume, which can free up space, or the user
could elect to compress the files. Moving files to a different location
on the volume doesn't affect the quota restriction. The amount of file
space is the same unless the user is moving uncompressed files and
folders to a folder with compression. In any case, the restriction on a
single user does not affect other users' ability to write to the volume
(as long as the volume has free space).
You can enable disk quotas on local volumes and on
remote volumes. To manage disk quotas on local volumes, you work with
the local disk itself. To manage disk quotas on remote volumes, you
must share the root directory for the volume and then set the disk
quota on the volume. Keep in mind that when you enable disk quotas on a
local volume, operating system and application program files are not
included in the volume usage for the user who installed those files.
Generally, system files are owned by Trusted Installer and program
files are owned by the system account.
Only members of the domain administrators group or the
local system administrators group can configure disk quotas. Through
local group policy, you can enable disk quotas for an individual
computer. Through site, domain, or organizational unit policies, you
can enable disk quotas for groups of users and computers. Keeping track
of disk quotas does cause some overhead on computers, which is a
function of the number of disk quotas being enforced, the total size of
volumes and their data, and the number of users to which the disk
quotas apply.
Although
it appears that disk quotas are tracked per user, behind the scenes,
Windows Vista manages disk quotas according to security identifiers
(SIDs). Because disk quotas are tracked by SIDs, you can safely modify
user names without affecting the disk quota configuration. Tracking by
SIDs causes some additional overhead when viewing disk quota statistics
for users because Windows Vista must correlate SIDs to user account
names so that the account names can be displayed in dialog boxes. This
means contacting the local user manager or the Microsoft Active
Directory directory service domain controller as necessary. Once names
are looked up, they are cached to a local file so that they are
available immediately the next time they are needed. The query cache is
infrequently updated, so if you notice a discrepancy between what is
displayed and what is configured, you'll need to refresh the
information. Usually, this means selecting Refresh or pressing F5 in
the current window.
Enabling Disk Quotas on NTFS Volumes
Disk quotas are set on a per volume basis, and
only NTFS volumes can have disk quotas. Disk quotas must first be
configured through Group Policy .
Once the appropriate group policies are configured, you can use the
Computer Management console to set disk quotas for local and remote
volumes.
To enable disk quotas on an NTFS volume, follow these steps:
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Start Computer Management. You are connected to
the local computer by default. If you want to configure disk quotas on
a remote computer, right-click Computer Management in the console tree
and then select Connect To Another Computer. In the Select Computer
dialog box, select the computer you want to work with.
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In the console tree, expand Storage and then
select Disk Management. The volumes configured on the selected computer
are displayed in the details pane.
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Using the Volume List or Graphical view, right-click the volume you want to work with and then select Properties.
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Click the Quota tab, shown in Figure 1, and then select the Enable Quota Management check box.
Figure 1: Once you enable quota management, you can configure a quota limit and quota warning for all users.
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To set a default disk quota limit for all users,
select Limit Disk Space To and then use the fields provided to set a
limit in KB, MB, GB, TB, PB, or EB. Next use the Set Warning Level To
fields to set the default warning limit. You'll usually want the disk
quota warning limit to be 90 to 95 percent of the disk quota limit.
| Tip |
Although the default quota limit and warning
apply to all users, you can use the Quota Entries dialog box to
configure different levels for individual users. If you create many
unique quota entries and don't want to re-create them on a volume with
similar characteristics and usage, you can export the quota entries and
import them on a different volume.
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To enforce the disk quota limit and prevent users
from going over the limit, select the Deny Disk Space To Users
Exceeding Quota Limit check box. Keep in mind that this creates an
actual physical limitation for users, but not for administrators.
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To configure logging when users exceed a warning limit or the quota limit, use the Log Event check boxes.
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If the quota system isn't currently enabled,
you'll see a prompt asking you to enable the quota system. Click OK to
allow Windows Vista to rescan the volume and update disk usage
statistics. Actions can be taken against users that exceed the
current limit or warning levels, which can include preventing
additional writing to the volume, notifying users the next time they
access the volume, and logging applicable events in the application log.
Viewing Disk Quota Entries
Disk space usage is tracked on a per user basis.
When disk quotas are enabled, each user storing data on a volume has an
entry in the disk quota file. This entry is updated periodically to
show the current disk space used, the applicable quota limit, the
applicable warning level, and the percentage of allowable space being
used. As an administrator, you can modify disk quota entries to set
different limits and warning levels for particular users. You can also
create disk quota entries for users who have not yet saved data on a
volume. By creating entries, you ensure that when a user does make use
of a volume, she has an appropriate limit and warning level.
To view the current disk quota entries for a volume, follow these steps:
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Start Computer Management. You are connected to
the local computer by default. If you want to view disk quotas on a
remote computer, right-click Computer Management in the console tree
and then select Connect To Another Computer. In the Select Computer
dialog box, select the computer you want to work with.
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In the console tree, expand Storage and then
select Disk Management. The volumes configured on the selected computer
are displayed in the details pane.
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Using the Volume List or Graphical view, right-click the volume you want to work with and then select Properties.
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On the Quota tab, click Quota Entries. This displays the Quota Entries dialog box, shown in Figure 2.
As you can see from the figure, each quota entry is listed according to
a status. The status is meant to quickly depict whether a user has gone
over her limit. A status of OK means the user is working within the
quota boundaries. Any other status usually means the user has reached
the warning level or the quota limit.
Figure 2: Disk quota entries show current disk space usage on a particular volume as well as applicable quota limits and warning levels.
Creating Disk Quota Entries
You
can create disk quota entries for users who have not yet saved data on
a volume as well as for users who have already saved data on a volume.
This enables you to set custom limits and warning levels for any user
as necessary. Usually you'll use this feature when one user frequently
stores more information than others do. For example, a graphic designer
might have much higher storage needs than a customer-support person
does. The good news about custom quota entries is that you can export
them to other volumes, which enables you to quickly apply the same set
of rules to multiple volumes.
To create a quota entry on a volume, follow these steps:
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In Computer Management, expand Storage and then
select Disk Management. Using the Volume List or Graphical view,
right-click the volume you want to work with and then select Properties.
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On the Quota tab, click Quota Entries. Current
quota entries for all users are listed. To refresh the listing, press
F5 or select Refresh from the View menu.
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If the user doesn't have an existing entry on the
volume, you can create one from the Quota menu by selecting New Quota
Entry. This opens the Select Users dialog box.
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In the Select Users dialog box, type the name of
a user in the Enter The Object Names To Select field and then click
Check Names. If multiple matches are found, select the desired account
and then click OK. If no matches are found, update the name you entered
and try again. Repeat this step as necessary and click OK when finished.
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Once you've selected a name, the Add New Quota
Entry dialog box is displayed. You have several options. You can remove
all quota restrictions for this user by selecting Do Not Limit Disk
Usage. In addition, you can set a specific limit and warning level by
selecting Limit Disk Space To and then entering the appropriate values
in the fields provided.
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Click OK. Close the Quota Entries dialog box. Click OK on the Properties dialog box.
Updating and Customizing Disk Quota Entries
You can modify and customize disk quota entries for individual users at any time by following these steps:
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In Computer Management, expand Storage and then
select Disk Management. Using the Volume List or Graphical view,
right-click the volume you want to work with and then select Properties.
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On the Quota tab, click Quota Entries. Current
quota entries for all users are listed. To refresh the listing, press
F5 or select Refresh from the View menu.
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Double-click the quota entry for the user. This
displays the Quota Settings For dialog box, which is similar to the
dialog box shown in Figure 1.
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To remove all quota restrictions for this user, select Do Not Limit Disk Usage.
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To modify the current limit and warning level,
select Limit Disk Space To and then enter the appropriate values in the
fields provided.
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Click OK.
Deleting Disk Quota Entries
When you've created disk quota entries on a
volume and a user no longer needs to use the volume, you can delete the
associated disk quota entry. When you delete a disk quota entry, all
files owned by the user are collected and displayed in a dialog box so
that you can permanently delete the files, take ownership of the files,
or move the files to a folder on a different volume.
To delete a disk quota entry for a user and manage the remaining files on the volume, follow these steps:
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In Computer Management, expand Storage and then
select Disk Management. Using the Volume List or Graphical view,
right-click the volume you want to work with and then select Properties.
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On the Quota tab, click Quota Entries. Current
quota entries for all users are listed. To refresh the listing, press
F5 or select Refresh from the View menu.
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Select the disk quota entry that you want to
delete and then press Del or select Delete Quota Entry from the Quota
menu. You can select multiple entries using the Shift or Ctrl key.
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When prompted to confirm the action, click Yes.
This displays the Disk Quota dialog box with a list of current files
owned by the selected user or users.
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Use the List Files Owned By selection list to
display files for the user whose quota entry you are deleting. You must
then specify how the files for the user will be handled. You can handle
each file separately by selecting individual files and then choosing an
appropriate option. Select multiple files by using the Shift or Ctrl
key. The following options are available:
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q Show Folders Only
Changes the view to show only folders in which the user has files. In
this way, you can delete, move, or take ownership of all the user's
files in a particular folder.
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q Show Files Only Shows all files that the user owns according to the folder in which they were created. This is the default view.
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q Permanently Delete Files Select the files to delete and then press Del. When prompted to confirm the action, click Yes.
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q Take Ownership Of Files Select the files that you want to take ownership of and then click Take Ownership.
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q Move Files To
Select the files that you want to move and then, in the field provided,
enter the path to a folder on a different volume. If you don't know the
path that you want to use, click Browse to display the Browse For
Folder dialog box, which you can use to find the folder. Once you find
the folder, click Move.
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Click Close when you are finished managing the
files. Provided that you've appropriately handled all user files, the
disk quota entries are deleted.
Exporting and Importing Disk Quota Settings
Rather than re-creating custom disk quota entries
on individual volumes, you can export the settings from a source volume
and import them to another volume. Both volumes must be formatted using
NTFS. To export and then import disk quota entries, perform the
following steps:
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Start Computer Management. You are connected to
the local computer by default. If you want to work with disk quotas on
a remote computer, right-click Computer Management in the console tree
and then select Connect To Another Computer. In the Select Computer
dialog box, select the computer you want to work with.
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In the console tree, expand Storage and then
select Disk Management. The volumes configured on the selected computer
are displayed in the details pane.
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Using the Volume List or Graphical view, right-click the source volume and then select Properties.
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On the Quota tab, click Quota Entries. This displays the Quota Entries dialog box.
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From the Quota menu, select Export. This displays
the Export Quota Settings dialog box. Use the Save In selection list to
choose the location to which to save the file containing the quota
settings, and then set a name for the file using the File Name field.
Next click Save.
| Tip |
If you save the settings file to a mapped drive
on the target volume, you'll have an easier time importing the
settings. Quota files are usually fairly small, so you won't need to
worry about disk space usage.
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From the Quota menu, select Close to exit the Quota Entries dialog box. Click OK to close the Properties dialog box.
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Right-click Computer Management in the console
tree. From the shortcut menu, select Connect To Another Computer. In
the Select Computer dialog box, select the computer containing the
target volume on which you want to use the exported settings.
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Expand Storage and then select Disk Management.
Using the Volume List or Graphical view, right-click the target volume
and then select Properties.
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Click the Quota tab, ensure that Enable Quota
Management is selected, and then click Quota Entries. This displays the
Quota Entries dialog box for the target volume.
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From the Quota menu, select Import. In the Import
Quota Settings dialog box, select the quota settings file that you
saved previously. Click Open.
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If the volume had previous quota entries, you'll
have the opportunity to replace or keep existing entries. When prompted
about a conflict, click Yes to replace an existing entry, or click No
to keep the existing entry. The option to replace or keep existing
entries can be applied to all entries on the volume by selecting Do
This For All Quota Entries prior to clicking Yes or No.
Disabling Disk Quotas
You can disable quotas for individual users or
all users on a volume. When you disable quotas for a particular user,
that user is no longer subject to the quota restrictions, but disk
quotas are still tracked for other users. When you disable quotas on a
volume, quota tracking and management are completely removed. To
disable quotas for a particular user. To disable quota tracking and management on a volume, follow these steps:
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Start Computer Management. You are connected to
the local computer by default. If you want to disable disk quotas on a
remote computer, right-click Computer Management in the console tree
and then select Connect To Another Computer. In the Select Computer
dialog box, select the computer you want to work with.
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In the console tree, expand Storage and then
select Disk Management. The volumes configured on the selected computer
are displayed in the details pane.
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Using the Volume List or Graphical view, right-click the volume and then select Properties.
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On the Quota tab, clear the Enable Quota Management check box. Click OK. When prompted to confirm, click OK.
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