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Grokking the Advanced System Design Interview
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Garbage Collection

Let's learn how GFS implements garbage collection.

Garbage collection through lazy deletion

When a file is deleted, GFS does not immediately reclaim the physical space used by that file. Instead, it follows a lazy garbage collection strategy. When the client issues a delete file operation, GFS does two things:

  1. The master logs the deletion operation just like other changes.
  2. The deleted file is renamed to a hidden name that also includes a deletion timestamp.

The file can still be read under the new, special name and can also be undeleted by renaming it back to normal

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