Inodes are an important aspect of file systems, representing a data structure. They allow the system to find and process files efficiently by specifying their exact location on disk. However, each file system has a limit of inodes, which limits the number of files and folders you can create. This blog article explains why some hosting companies have limits on inodes, why we at Max1 don’t have a limit, and how you can manage your inodes for optimal website performance.
What are Inodes in Linux?
Inodes is a data structure or in other words a disk table that contains information about files, folders and symlinks. Explained a little more simply – inodes contain information about exactly where on the disk a given file is located. Without them, opening a given file would take hours because the server would have to go through the entire disk to find a particular file. Now imagine if you have to load more files, your site will take days to load. Each file system has a limit of inodes, as it is limited based on its architecture. On Linux filesystems, the most common limit is 2^32, or roughly 4.3 billion inodes.
Why do hosting companies have limits on the number of files and folders?
Every time a file is opened, the system must read its inode from the table. The more files and folders you have, the more inodes you use. And the more inodes you use, the more system resources your account consumes. This is one of the main reasons why many hosting companies have limits on the number of inodes used in shared hosting.
Why then does Max1 have no limit on inodes? Does this mean my site will run slower?
No, your site will not run slower if you are on a shared hosting plan, as we control the resource usage of each and every customer who has purchased a plan from us. For example, if a client uses more inodes, then logically that client also uses more resources (processing power, RAM memory, disk space), but is also limited to using these resources within certain limits (eg 3cpu, 4 RAM and 200GB disk space for WP Business plan). If the site using more inodes reaches these limits, it will not use the resources of the other sites, but will simply load more slowly until the system fulfills all requests to all inodes called within the specified resources. Simply put: more inodes = slower site.
If my website has more inodes, what can I do to make it load faster?
A suitable hosting plan
First of all, you need to choose the right plan for your website. If your site is on a WordPress platform and you use multiple plugins, we advise you to choose one of our WordPress site plans such as WP Business or WP Pro. If you need more resources at any time, we can create an individual plan for your needs or switch to VPS (more information about what VPS – virtual private servers are, you can read here: What is VPS hosting and is it suitable for You?).
Manage inodes
There are many ways to maintain an optimal number of inodes so that your site performs optimally. Here are some tips for managing the number of inodes you use:
- Eliminate Unnecessary Backups – You don’t need to keep archives of your site that store an outdated version. Backups that are created on a schedule by plugins or third-party services can fill up all the disk space if they are not controlled. Download outdated backups and delete them from your hosting account to save disk space and inodes.
- Delete unused plugins – If your site is on WordPress and you have plugins that are not active, it is better to delete them. Disabling plugins leaves the codebase in your account, increasing your file and folder quota.
- Remove unused image sizes – It is possible to create copies of the images that your website uses with different resolutions and sizes. Make sure you use all of these copies and leave only those that actually have an application on your site.
- Clearing Unnecessary Cache Files – Modern web applications use file caching. They can create an unnecessary amount of cached files and increase your inodes usage. Check your website’s “Cache” folder for the number of regularly stored cached files. For WordPress, check the wp-content folder for folders with similar names and delete them. We recommend using caching plugins like WP Rocket or Litespeed cache, which don’t rely on file-based caching and won’t increase your inodes quota.
- Delete the .opcache folder in your account – The system .opcache folder can be cleared via FTP. If you’re using PHP 7.x, this is where opcaches are stored. It will be rebuilt, but it will not store stale cache from older versions of PHP or code that is not active.
- Clean up your email accounts – Mail adds to the total inodes quota because emails are files. Regularly clean out the Junk/Spam folders where a large number of emails accumulate. Regularly clean out your Trash/Bin folders, which collect deleted emails but store them on the server. Clear both newsletter and auto-generated emails you don’t need.
Website redesign
If the current site uses too many files and folders, it may be time to think about redesigning and optimizing your site. Of course, such a decision is difficult to make, as it involves an investment of time and finances, but in some cases it could be the best decision. A well-optimized site using fewer inodes has a number of advantages:
- It loads quickly and ranks higher in search engines like Google and Bing;
- Easier for users to use and for site administrators to manage;
- Less hosting and maintenance costs;
- Instead of a morally outdated design, there will be a modern and attractive look:
- Ability to upgrade and improve over time.
Conclusion
Managing inodes is a key aspect of website maintenance, especially when dealing with shared hosting. Limits on inodes are necessary to maintain a balance between performance and resource costs. We at Max1 do not limit our customers for the number of inodes they use, but in order for each customer to use our hosting services as efficiently as possible, we recommend managing the files and folders used by the sites hosted on our servers. Removing unnecessary backups, inactive plugins, redundant image sizes, and optimizing cache files can help manage inodes and improve website performance. In combination with a suitable hosting plan and possible website redesign, it is possible to achieve optimal website performance without unnecessary load on resources.