VoltDB defines a root directory for any disk-based activity which is required at runtime. This directory also serves as a root for all other path definitions that take the default or use a relative path specification.

If you do not specify a location for the root directory on the command line, VoltDB uses the current working directory as a default. Normally, you specify the location of the root directory using the --dir flag on the voltdb init and voltdb start commands. The root directory is then the subdirectory voltdbroot within the specified location. (If the subfolder does not exist, VoltDB creates it.) See the section on "Configuring Paths for Runtime Features" in the Using VoltDB manual for details.

The snapshots path specifies where automated and network partition snapshots are stored. The default snapshots path is the "snapshots" subfolder of the VoltDB root directory. You can specify an alternate path for snapshots using the <snapshots> child element of the <paths> tag in the configuration file.

The export overflow path specifies where overflow data is stored if the export queue gets too large. The default export overflow path is the "export_overflow" subfolder of the VoltDB root directory. You can specify an alternate path using the <exportoverflow> child element of the <paths> tag in the configuration file.

See the chapter on "Exporting Live Data" in the Using VoltDB manual for more information on export overflow.

The command log path specifies where the command logs are stored when command logging is enabled. The default command log path is the "command_log" subfolder of the VoltDB root directory. However, for production use, it is strongly recommended that the command logs be written to a dedicated device, not the same device used for snapshotting or export overflow. You can specify an alternate path using the <commandlog> child element of the <paths> tag in the configuration file.

See the chapter on "Command Logging and Recovery" in the Using VoltDB manual for more information on command logging.

The command log snapshots path specifies where the snapshots created by command logging are stored. The default path is the "command_log_snapshot" subfolder of the VoltDB root directory. (Note that command log snapshots are stored separately from automated snapshots.) You can specify an alternate path using the <commandlogsnapshot> child element of the <paths> tag in the configuration file.

See the chapter on "Command Logging and Recovery" in the Using VoltDB manual for more information on command logging.