[Linux-cluster] ENOSPC on write()

[Jeff Sturm]

I'm trying to diagnose a mysterious ENOSPC that happens infrequently
when our application writes to a GFS filesystem.

Here's an example system call:

       write(22, "\0\0", 2)                    = 2
       write(22,
"\4\7\01012345678\4\10\10\10\3\n\0\0\0\4\3\5\0\0\0\4\3\30\0\0\0"...,
299718) = -1 ENOSPC (No space left on device)

The file is empty prior to the first write().  2 bytes are successfully
written before the 2nd write() fails.

The filesystem has plenty of blocks and inodes free.  Does this indicate
some sort of resource starvation?  If so, what is an effective strategy
to mitigate?  Repeat the operation?  Write in smaller chunks?

Any help appreciated,

Jeff