What is scratch space?
Scratch space is a filesystem primarily for actively running jobs. There are no scratch quotas, so your jobs are free to write data to the limits of the filesystem (within reason). However, there is a finite amount of space. If the scratch space fills unchecked, necessary steps would be taken to eliminate the risk to actively runnings jobs. Files placed in the scratch directory are NOT backed up. Furthermore, files left in a scratch directory for more than 30 days are subject to being deleted. Therefore, files should be placed in a scratch directory only on a temporary basis. If files need to be stored for an extended time, and are too large to keep in your home directory, they may be transferred to the HSM near-line storage system. See Long Term Storage for more information. Your scratch space has the pathname /scratch/userid. There is a link to your scratch area in your home directory (/home/userid/scratch) for convenience.
