Why Inode Limits Exist
Every file and directory on a Linux filesystem has an inode.
Inodes can be thought of as the identity cards of files, storing important metadata about them, such as ownership, permissions, file size, and timestamps.
When a filesystem is created, a fixed number of inodes is allocated. This is why inode limits exist.
The number of available inodes is independent of disk space.
- You can run out of storage space even with free inodes available.
- You can run out of inodes even with free disk space.
For this reason, checking only disk usage is not always enough when troubleshooting storage-related issues.
