Automation Suite on Linux installation guide

Last updated Nov 13, 2025

How to clean up old differential backups on an NFS server

Description

NFS server disk usage can increase unexpectedly when old differential backup directories accumulate over time. This issue occurs when outdated backup data is not removed regularly, resulting in excessive disk space usage and potential storage issues.

Solution

To address the issue, identify and remove outdated differential backup directories:

Go to the differential backup directory path, as shown in the following example:
```
cd NFS_MOUNT/objectstore/backup/s3/diffcd NFS_MOUNT/objectstore/backup/s3/diff
```
List directories older than a specific epoch timestamp:
```
epoch=<timestamp-from-last-backup-you-want-to-keep>; for i in $(ls -1); do if [[ $i -lt $epoch ]]; then echo $i; fi; doneepoch=<timestamp-from-last-backup-you-want-to-keep>; for i in $(ls -1); do if [[ $i -lt $epoch ]]; then echo $i; fi; done
```
Replace <timestamp-from-last-backup-you-want-to-keep> with the epoch timestamp of the last backup you want to keep.

This command lists all directories older than that timestamp.

After verifying the output, delete the old directories:

epoch=<timestamp-from-last-backup-you-want-to-keep>; for i in $(ls -1); do if [[ $i -lt $epoch ]]; then rm -rf $i; fi; doneepoch=<timestamp-from-last-backup-you-want-to-keep>; for i in $(ls -1); do if [[ $i -lt $epoch ]]; then rm -rf $i; fi; done