Planning for data that accumulates.
WHAT GROWS PREDICTABLY
Databases Uploaded files Logs Backups Mail
WHAT TO MEASURE
Growth rate per month, per category.
WHY
It converts a vague worry into a date.
HOW TO MEASURE IT
Record usage regularly and compare.
WHAT TO PROJECT
When the disk will be full at current rates.
WHAT TO DO WITH THAT DATE
Plan before it, not after.
WHAT TO ADDRESS FIRST
Anything growing without limit.
WHAT COMMONLY HAS NO LIMIT
Application logs Session and cache directories Old backups Soft-deleted records in databases
WHAT TO IMPLEMENT
Retention: a defined age after which things are removed.
WHAT TO AUTOMATE
That removal.
WHAT TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT
Deleting things a regulation requires you to keep.
WHAT TO SEPARATE
Data that grows from the system partition.
WHY
A full system partition stops the machine; a full data partition stops one application.
WHAT TO CONSIDER AS DATA GROWS
Moving large files to object storage Archiving old records out of the main database
WHAT TO MONITOR
Growth rate, not only current usage.
