Why is Voyager's Temp Folder So Large?

Owned by Heather Geyer
Aug 11, 2022
2 min read

When Voyager is building thumbnails for certain file types (raster, media files, etc.), it stores a copy of the file in the temp folder located in {Voyager_Install_Dir}/data.

This folder can rapidly increase in size, depending on the type of file(s) being extracted.  At times the folder may grow large enough to take up most or all available disk resources, leading to reduced performance.  Because of this, Voyager cleans up (deletes) the contents of the temp folder every 24 hours by default.

If the size of the temp folder increases more rapidly, cleaning up every 24 hours may not be sufficient.  In that case, Admin users can use the following strategies to reduce the size of the folder:

  • Delete temporary files immediately

  • Schedule deletion to occur at shorter intervals

  • Configure Voyager to store the temp files in a different location that has sufficient available space

Emptying the temp Folder Immediately

To delete temp files immediately:

  1. If possible, briefly stop the Voyager service 

  2. Delete the {Voyager_Install_Dir/data}/temp folder

  3. Restart the Voyager service

Scheduling Cleanup at Shorter Intervals

For larger indexes, it may be necessary to schedule cleanup every hour. Scheduling cleanup involves two steps:

  1. Adding or editing a Trigger - usually time-based (periodic) or can be event-based (e.g. Voyager Starts)

  2. Adding a Task to that Trigger (in this case the Cleanup Temporary Files task)

Whenever the Trigger conditions are met, Voyager performs the associated Task.

NOTE: If you are indexing a very large data set, it is prudent to schedule cleanup every hour.

To schedule cleanup:

  • Go to Manage Voyager > Discovery > Schedule

  • Add a Trigger or edit an existing Trigger

  • Choose an appropriate time interval, for example every hour or every 2 hours

  • Add the task Cleanup Temporary Files to the Trigger

For more information on scheduling, see Configuring Scheduling and Triggers

Moving the temp Folder to a Different Location

In cases where there is limited available space and a very large index, it is possible to move the temp folder to a different location where space is not limiting.

To move the temp folder:

  • Stop the Voyager service

  • Open the Voyager.vmoptions file in the {Voyager_Install_Dir}/app folder

  • In the # Directories section, enter the new location, for example 
    -Dtemp.dir=d:/storage/temp     

  • Note: the path is case-sensitive and the target directory name must be included in the path.

  • Save the Voyager.vmoptions file

  • Restart the Voyager service

 See Also

Configuring Options Using the Voyager.vmoptions file