> Source: [sk184691](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk184691)

# sk184691 - Snapshot export fails on Maestro Orchestrator 140 with error "Cannot export snapshot, insufficient space in /var/log/. Space required: <value>"

| Property | Value |
|----------|-------|
| Solution ID | sk184691 |
| Date Created | 2026-04-27 |
| Last Modified | 2026-04-28 |
| Technical Level | General |
| Products | Scalable Platforms |
| Versions | R81.20 |
| OS | Gaia |
| Platform | Maestro Orchestrator |

## Symptoms

- * Exporting a system snapshot on Maestro Orchestrator 140 fails with this error:

  ` Cannot export snapshot, insufficient space in /var/log/. Space required: <value of space required>`
* The actual snapshot file size is, for example, 12GB-18GB, but the export process requires significantly more temporary space.

* Disk usage checks show that the `/var/log` partition is lower than the required temporary space for the export.

## Cause

During the export, the system stages and packages the snapshot in the `/var/log` partition.

This process can require up to 2 x the size of the final snapshot file as temporary working space.

In environments where `/var/log` does not have sufficient free space, snapshot export fails with the `insufficient space` error (see symptom # 1).

## Solution

* **Option 1** : Decrease the snapshot size.  
  **Warning** - Follow your organization's log retention and audit requirements before you remove or archive logs.  
  1. Connect to the command line on the Maestro Orchestrator:
  2. Go to Expert mode:  
     `expert`
  3. Identify large files and disk usage:  
     `du -sh /var/log/*`
  4. Remove or archive old log files where possible.
* **Option 2** : Make sure that available space in `/var/log` is at least 2 x the expected snapshot size.
  1. Estimate the expected exported snapshot file size.
  2. Make sure that free space in `/var/log` is at least 2� that size.
  3. Retry the snapshot export

**Note** - There is no supported method to increase the `/var/log` partition size on an existing system without re-partitioning and reinstalling the Operating System.

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