dusage

Dusage is a term used in computing to describe a framework or concept for monitoring and reporting data usage across distributed storage environments. It combines the idea of measuring resource consumption with analytics tooling to provide visibility into how disk space, I/O, and data volumes are used by users, projects, and applications. It is implemented in multiple software packages rather than existing as a single standard.

History and scope: The notion gained prominence as data footprints grew in clusters, cloud storage, and enterprise data centers. Several projects adopted dusage as a label for analytics layers that centralize usage metrics, though no universal specification exists.

Architecture and features: Typical dusage deployments include agents or collectors on compute nodes, a central time-series database, and a visualization or API layer. Core capabilities include per-user, per-project, and per-directory accounting; support for quotas and policy enforcement; retention controls; privacy-preserving sampling; and compatibility with existing storage backends and authentication systems.

Applications and use cases: Applications include capacity planning, cost allocation, chargeback or showback, compliance auditing, and anomaly detection. Dusage data can drive automated alerts for unusual consumption, inform storage tiering decisions, and guide budgeting for future capacity.

Reception and status: Dusage remains niche, with multiple independent implementations. Advocates emphasize interoperability and transparency, while critics point to fragmentation and lack of standardization.

See also: disk usage, quota, storage analytics. Example: a dusage dashboard shows top-consuming users and projects by bytes used and file counts.