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HP OpenVMS Systemsask the wizard |
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The Question is: Generally, When you are setting up a new Directory under Open VMS, can you tell me whats the largest number of files as a general rule that should be on a given directory? I am looking at a new directory which will have between 12-15k files. Should it be spread out into different directories or is system's performance OK with that many files on one directory? Thanks, John The Answer is : The question is one of directory size, the frequency of insertions and removals and searches, and particularly the patterns of the insertions and removals. The maximum directory size is limited by the free contiguous disk space. Directory cache processing was overhauled with V7.2, so the older 128 block directory size limit no longer holds -- this is briefly discussed in the OpenVMS FAQ. The OpenVMS Wizard would tend to split up that number of files if for no other reason than the length of the directory displays. Additionally, the effort involved in recovering or restoring directories of this size could easily be disruptive to your application environment -- archiving smaller groups of files based on creation or access date is easier, for instance, than sorting through and archiving a mixture of active and inactive files. The OpenVMS Wizard has a single OpenVMS mail directory containing well over 12,000 individual mail message files. The directory file itself requires about two thousand blocks. This works nicely, and with no particular performance consequences or degradation noted. The system is an older workstation system with comparatively slow disks, running OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-1. For a more specific answer, you will have to prototype your operations.
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