Disk Full on /var Breaks apt and Logging on Ubuntu 14.04

📖 ~1 min read

Table of contents

1. Symptom & Impact
2. Environment & Reproduction
3. Root Cause Analysis
4. Quick Triage
5. Step-by-Step Diagnosis
6. Solution – Primary Fix
7. Solution – Alternative Approaches
8. Verification & Acceptance Criteria
9. Rollback Plan
10. Prevention & Hardening
11. Related Errors & Cross-Refs
12. References & Further Reading

Symptom & Impact

apt operations fail, services cannot write logs, and application errors increase because /var partition is fully consumed.

Environment & Reproduction

Common on long-running Ubuntu 14.04 hosts with oversized logs, retained package cache, or runaway data under /var/lib directories.

Root Cause Analysis

Unbounded log growth or stale package artifacts exhaust available blocks on /var, disrupting write-dependent system functions.

Quick Triage

Run df -h and du summaries, locate top consumers under /var/log and /var/cache/apt, and check recent application log spikes.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Identify largest files and directories, inspect logrotate status, and confirm whether deleted-but-open files still consume space via lsof.

Solution – Primary Fix

Purge apt cache, rotate and compress oversized logs, remove obsolete artifacts safely, and restart affected services once space returns.

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Extend filesystem capacity, move heavy data paths to separate volumes, or forward logs centrally to reduce local retention pressure.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

Free space on /var remains above operational threshold, apt commands succeed, and logging resumes without write errors.

Rollback Plan

Restore accidentally removed data from backup and reverse retention changes if cleanup removes required forensic or compliance records.

Prevention & Hardening

Set logrotate limits, monitor filesystem utilization trends, and enforce alerting before partitions exceed safe capacity.

Related Errors & Cross-Refs

Can trigger dpkg interruption, MySQL startup failures, and upstart job crashes when PID and socket writes fail.

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

View all Ubuntu 14.04 LTS tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

Read logrotate docs, Linux filesystem administration guides, and internal retention policy for legacy server estates.