Everything you need to know about Inodes

In Unix-style file system, inode is a data structure. Each inode contains the attributes and information of the files e.g. permission details and data location of the object. Each file and directory is represented by a separate inode.

Not only ours, but every web hosting service around the world has inodes limits. You can see the total inode limits you have used in your Profreehost hosting account. Please note that only files and directories are counted in inodes limits. Emails and databases are excluded from the limits.

Why does everyone limit Inodes?

The more inodes there are, the longer it takes to search for files and directories, putting more load on the disks. Such hinderance can affect the response time and speed of all cumulative Profreehost web hosting accounts. Profreehost has to manage the load to an optimal level as we provide shared hosting.

What happens when inodes limit is reached?

If the limit is reached, your website will keep working. However, you may not be able to create more files/directories anywhere.

Decreasing inodes usage?

We understand that you may need to host large scripts with a large number of files and folders from time to time. There's no need to be cautious as long as your Inodes limit remains under 80%.

To decrease inodes usage, you simply need to delete files/directories that you are not using. One way is to look up for the addon domain directories that you are not using and delete them.

Some directories, which contain information about your account, cannot be deleted. Don't worry, they're few and far between, and shouldn't have any significant impact on your inodes usage.