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Cloud Gateways Switching WiFi Physical Security Integrations

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Understanding System Data & Others in UniFi Drive

The UniFi Drive dashboard includes a category called System Data & Others, which contains system-generated and background data that doesn't appear as regular files. This article explains what’s included in this category and how you can reduce its size if your storage is running low.If you're looking to configure storage pools and RAID groups, click here. 

What's Included in "System Data & Others"?

Different types of data in this category are created by specific actions. For example, previewing a video creates a temporary file, and uploading photos generates thumbnails. Your activity directly affects how much space this category uses.

  • Thumbnails: Small image previews created for your photos to help you browse faster. The more photos you have, the more space thumbnails may use.
  • Streaming files (video preview): Temporary files created when you preview videos. The more videos you preview, and the larger they are, the more space this takes up.
  • Archive files (folder or multi-file downloads): When you download a folder or multiple files, UniFi Drive creates a temporary archive. It deletes the archive automatically once the download is complete.
  • Snapshots: Snapshots are backup versions of your files. They're only created if you turn on the snapshot feature for your Personal or Shared Drives. You won’t see them in your regular file view, and the space they use depends on how much your files have changed since the snapshot was taken.
  • Drives or snapshots being deleted: When you delete a drive or a snapshot, UniFi Drive removes the data in the background. Until the process is complete, the space may still appear as used.
  • Application metadata: Small files that store system settings and configuration details. These files are required for UniFi Drive to work properly and can’t be manually removed.

How Do I Free Up Space?

While some of this data is managed automatically, there are a few ways you can reduce it.

  • Delete large photo or video folders: This helps remove extra thumbnails and video preview files.
  • Limit multi-file downloads: Fewer bulk downloads mean fewer temporary archive files being created.
  • Delete old snapshots: Snapshots grow over time as files are edited or deleted. Deleting them can free up space, especially if many files have changed after the snapshot was taken. However, if the files haven’t changed much, deleting the snapshot might not recover much space.

FAQs

I deleted a large amount of data and emptied the Bin. Why hasn't System Data & Others decreased?

  • Cause: This is typically due to snapshot retention.
  • Explanation: Snapshots preserve the state of your data at specific points in time. Even after files are deleted from your Shared Drive and Bin, the underlying data may still exist if it is referenced by a snapshot.
  • Solution: 
    • Review the snapshot schedule and retention policy for the affected drive. 
    • To free up space immediately, manually delete older snapshots created before the data was removed.

Why does a new UNAS show significant System Data usage with no files stored?

  • Cause: This is expected behavior due to Btrfs chunk preallocation.
  • Explanation: UNAS uses the Btrfs filesystem, which preallocates storage in large blocks to optimize performance and prevent fragmentation. On higher-capacity systems, this may reserve a noticeable amount of space as a buffer. Although this appears as System Data, the space is functionally available and will be used automatically as new data is written.
  • Solution: No action is required. This is normal system behavior.

System Data & Others is increasing unexpectedly. Should I be concerned?

  • Cause: This is commonly caused by frequent data changes or background system processes.
  • Explanation: Snapshots can grow quickly if large amounts of data are modified regularly (e.g., backups or sync tasks). The Btrfs filesystem may also adjust internal structures over time, which can affect reported usage.
  • Solution:
    • Review snapshots: Check whether frequent backups or changes are increasing snapshot size.
    • Monitor system health: If performance is normal and there are no drive alerts, this behavior is expected.
    • Contact support: If you are unable to write new data despite available capacity, download the support file and contact Ubiquiti Support via UI Account (https://account.ui.com/).
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