Isilon: FSA settings and how they related to the FSA API in OneFS

Summary: This describes how the different settings for the FSAnalyze job impact the results, and as consequence the OneFS Application Programming Interface (API) for retrieving that data.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.

Instructions

Note:  The examples in this KB assume that HTTP Basic Auth is enabled for the OneFS API.

Disabling Basic Auth only impacts the syntax for following along with the provided examples.
Disabling Basic Auth has zero impact on the relation between the File System Analytics (FSA) settings. The behavior of the FSA results API end points is not affected by Disabling Basic Auth.

The OneFS API, and the FSA end points

Before diving in, let us use the HTTP parameters descirbe&list&all to see all the API end point for working FSA.
 

isilon-1# curl -k --fail -u root https://127.0.0.1:8080/platform/3/fsa/\?describe\&list\&all
Enter host password for user 'root':

{
"directory" :
[
"/3/fsa/path",
"/3/fsa/results",
"/3/fsa/results/<ID>",
"/3/fsa/results/<ID>/directories",
"/3/fsa/results/<ID>/directories/<LIN>",
"/3/fsa/results/<ID>/histogram",
"/3/fsa/results/<ID>/histogram/<STAT>",
"/3/fsa/results/<ID>/histogram/<STAT>/by",
"/3/fsa/results/<ID>/histogram/<STAT>/by/<BREAKOUT>",
"/3/fsa/results/<ID>/top-dirs",
"/3/fsa/results/<ID>/top-dirs/<STAT>",
"/3/fsa/results/<ID>/top-files",
"/3/fsa/results/<ID>/top-files/<STAT>",
"/3/fsa/settings"
]
}

This KB discusses the values for the /3/fsa/settings end point and how they relate to the /3/fsa/results/<ID> end points.

To view the settings for the FSAnalyze job, perform an HTTP GET on the /3/fsa/settings end point:
isilon-1# curl -k --fail -u root https://127.0.0.1:8080/platform/3/fsa/settings
Enter host password for user 'root':

{
"settings" :
{
"default_template" : "insightiq",
"disk_usage_depth" : -1,
"max_age" : 0,
"max_count" : 8,
"squash_depth" : 90,
"top_n_max" : 5,
"use_snapshot" : false
}
}
 

What the different settings mean

disk_usage_depth
How deep info the file system to collect counts and sizes for files and directories. When a value of -1 is provided, the FSAnalyze job provides details for all files and directories.
If another value is defined, then the FSAnalyze job collects accurate information for the files and directories up to the depth defined. A value of 2 means the size and file/directory count of /ifs is accurate. It is still possible to lookup the file/directory count of deeper paths. For example: /ifs/data/some/deeper/folder.
This setting impacts which Logical INodes (LINs) can be directly index using the /3/fsa/results/<ID>/directories/<LIN> end point.

max_age
The number of days to keep an FSA result set. A value of 0 (zero) means that OneFS never deletes an FSA result due to how old it is. Keep in mind that keeping too many FSA result sets can impact performance. Many FSA result sets can take longer to parse, sort, and organize.

max_count
The maximum number of FSA results to keep. When a new FSA result set is generated, the oldest result gets deleted. A value of 0 (zero) means that OneFS never deletes an FSA result set. Again, keep in mind that keeping too many FSA result sets can negatively impact the performance of the cluster.

squash_depth
Information about files and directories is referenced with LINs instead of file paths. A separate mapping is maintained to support obtaining FSA data by absolute file path from /ifs.
This setting defines how deep into the file system that mapping should be and includes /ifs. For instance, a value of 2 would mean that the users could reference /ifs/data directly, but /ifs/data/somefolder would not be resolvable.
This setting impacts which file paths can be resolved by supplying the path parameter for the /3/fsa/results/<ID>/directories end point.

top_n_max
Tracking information about file and directory attributes is limited to the top N items. For instance, a value of 1000 means that the FSA result set only keep a record of the attributes for 1000 files and directories.

use_snapshot
The FSAnalyze job can take hours or days to complete. While it is running, the state of /ifs changes, as uses add, delete, and modify files. To provide a point-in-time view of the file system, the FSAnalyze job can take a snapshot of the file system before it runs. A value of true means to take a snapshot, while a value of false means the opposite.

Affected Products

PowerScale OneFS

Products

PowerScale OneFS
Article Properties
Article Number: 000155869
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 22 Dec 2025
Version:  8
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