An inode is a record in a disk table, which contains information about a file or folder such as its size, owner, device node, socket, pipe, etc., except data content and file name. The number of inodes on your account equals the number of files and folders you have on it.
HostRound customers may see the number of inodes they are using from their account’s cPanel -> File Usage (situated on the right side on the cPanel home page).
Every time a file is opened, the file’s inode is read by the kernel of the server. The more files/folders you have, the more inodes you use. And the more inodes you use, the more system resources your account consumes. That is why it is a common and necessary practice among hosts to limit the number of inodes on a shared server, where it is not suitable for one account to use system resources and leave no power for the other accounts.
In case your account reaches the maximum number of inodes, it may be excluded from the backup system, or you may experience problems with file uploading, receiving emails, and see errors when accessing your website.