Most likely, there are directories in / that simply do not belong there. / is a static directory and won't grow without root's help. Often, a poorly written application program will usurp the sysadmin's responsibility to manage the system by storing itself in the root directory. There are only 3 directories in / anhd they are: etc dev sbin
That's all! Anything else (other than root's $HOME) are misplaced and need to be moved. As mentioned, if du can't see any growth, then likely there is a program writing to a logfile (logfiles *NEVER* go into /) and perhaps you rm'ed the file a while ago, but as long as the program keeps the file open, it will grow--and won't be visible
The only solution is a reboot. Save a copy of the sorted du output, then reboot and run it again (along with bdf). If / is back to normal (about 30-60 megs) then the above scenario was the case. It's time to cleanup / and move everything that isn't a mount point (except etc sbin and dev) to another disk. If an application (again, poorly written) can't tolerate being moved to /opt, then you can use a symlink to 'fool' the program. (you may also want to use the telephone to complain about the application's impact on your operation)
Another thing to do is to move root's $HOME. It doesn't belong in / at all. root droppings (the junk that sysadmins leave in $HOME) need to be checked regularly and if it is /, it is is difficult to see what needs to be purged. Instead, create /root, then move *all* files to that directory (no files should be in /). Finally, edit /etc/passwd and change the $HOME directory. Just to make sure everything was done correctly, stay logged in and start another session from a new location by logging in as root. If there is a problem (spelling, etc) then the current root login will let you fix it easily.
Bill Hassell, sysadmin
