Planning storage capacity

Monitor and manage disk utilization across the WarehousePG (WHPG) cluster to prevent database write failures and ensure consistent performance. Use the Storage panel on the left sidebar to audit current capacity, isolate hardware imbalances, and forecast future storage requirements.

Managing cluster-wide capacity

Perform high-level audits of your total storage footprint and ensure data is spread evenly across the infrastructure using the Overview tab.

• Review the Total Capacity, Used, Free, and Avg Usage header cards for a cluster-wide snapshot. If average usage is climbing, begin identifying data archival candidates before capacity is exhausted.
• An alert appears automatically when one or more filesystems exceed 80% usage.
• Identify storage imbalances with the Free Space Distribution by Host and Mount Point chart. If certain nodes have significantly less free space than others, it usually indicates data skew at the database level that requires re-distribution. Consider using ALTER TABLE ... SET DISTRIBUTED BY to choose a column with more unique values.
• Differentiate database and system growth by inspecting the Storage Details table. The Host, Mount Point, Total, Used, Free, and Usage % columns help you determine if storage pressure is caused by database tables (typically in /data) or by expanding system logs and temporary files in other partitions.

Forecasting and growth analysis

Perform proactive capacity planning on your cluster using the Historical tab.

• The Historical Storage Trends section shows storage consumption over a selectable time range (from 1 hour up to 30 days). Toggle between Free Space (GB) and Usage % views, and filter by host or mount point to isolate specific filesystems.
• Analyze consumption trends to determine your daily or weekly ingest rate and predict when your current storage volume will reach a critical state.

Responding to storage pressure

When storage indicators show filesystems approaching capacity:

• Analyze table and index volume if storage is running low. Navigate to the Data Analysis panel to identify the largest tables and indexes. Focus on high-growth objects that are the primary drivers of disk consumption. See Analyzing data distribution for details.
• Monitor for database bloat and check for high levels of dead tuples. Reclaiming space from bloated tables through vacuuming can often postpone the need for physical hardware expansion.
• Initiate data archiving by moving historical or low-access data to cold storage or external archives.
• If growth is consistent with expected usage and can't be mitigated by archiving or vacuuming, consult your administrator. Use the Historical Storage Trends data to justify adding additional disk space or scaling out with more cluster nodes.