An administrator runs `df -h` and sees the root filesystem at 100% capacity, but `du -sh /*` shows only about 60% usage. What is the MOST likely explanation for this discrepancy?

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B. Deleted files still have open file handles; the blocks are consumed but not counted by `du`. When a process deletes a file but still holds an open file descriptor to it, the OS keeps the disk blocks allocated until the last file handle is closed. `df` reports actual block usage (including orphaned blocks from deleted-but-open files), while `du` walks the directory tree and only counts files that have directory entries. Use `lsof | grep deleted` to find these processes and restart them to release the space.

An administrator runs `df -h` and sees the root filesystem at 100% capacity, but `du -sh /*` shows only about 60% usage. What is the MOST likely explanation for this discrepancy?

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An administrator runs df -h and sees the root filesystem at 100% capacity, but du -sh /* shows only about 60% usage. What is the MOST likely explanation for this discrepancy?

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Discussion

An administrator runs `df -h` and sees the root filesystem at 100% capacity, but `du -sh /*` shows only about 60% usage. What is the MOST likely explanation for this discrepancy?