diff --git a/weed/command/backup.go b/weed/command/backup.go
index 3b14705d7..58eda638e 100644
--- a/weed/command/backup.go
+++ b/weed/command/backup.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package command
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/pb"
 
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/security"
@@ -113,7 +114,7 @@ func runBackup(cmd *Command, args []string) bool {
 			return true
 		}
 	}
-	v, err := storage.NewVolume(util.ResolvePath(*s.dir), util.ResolvePath(*s.dir), *s.collection, vid, storage.NeedleMapInMemory, replication, ttl, 0, 0)
+	v, err := storage.NewVolume(util.ResolvePath(*s.dir), util.ResolvePath(*s.dir), *s.collection, vid, storage.NeedleMapInMemory, replication, ttl, 0, 0, 0)
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Printf("Error creating or reading from volume %d: %v\n", vid, err)
 		return true
@@ -138,7 +139,7 @@ func runBackup(cmd *Command, args []string) bool {
 		// remove the old data
 		v.Destroy()
 		// recreate an empty volume
-		v, err = storage.NewVolume(util.ResolvePath(*s.dir), util.ResolvePath(*s.dir), *s.collection, vid, storage.NeedleMapInMemory, replication, ttl, 0, 0)
+		v, err = storage.NewVolume(util.ResolvePath(*s.dir), util.ResolvePath(*s.dir), *s.collection, vid, storage.NeedleMapInMemory, replication, ttl, 0, 0, 0)
 		if err != nil {
 			fmt.Printf("Error creating or reading from volume %d: %v\n", vid, err)
 			return true
diff --git a/weed/command/compact.go b/weed/command/compact.go
index 6c390ea1f..6d1f5d5f1 100644
--- a/weed/command/compact.go
+++ b/weed/command/compact.go
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ func runCompact(cmd *Command, args []string) bool {
 	preallocate := *compactVolumePreallocate * (1 << 20)
 
 	vid := needle.VolumeId(*compactVolumeId)
-	v, err := storage.NewVolume(util.ResolvePath(*compactVolumePath), util.ResolvePath(*compactVolumePath), *compactVolumeCollection, vid, storage.NeedleMapInMemory, nil, nil, preallocate, 0)
+	v, err := storage.NewVolume(util.ResolvePath(*compactVolumePath), util.ResolvePath(*compactVolumePath), *compactVolumeCollection, vid, storage.NeedleMapInMemory, nil, nil, preallocate, 0, 0)
 	if err != nil {
 		glog.Fatalf("Load Volume [ERROR] %s\n", err)
 	}
diff --git a/weed/command/server.go b/weed/command/server.go
index 526841e28..24c529e62 100644
--- a/weed/command/server.go
+++ b/weed/command/server.go
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ func init() {
 	serverOptions.v.readMode = cmdServer.Flag.String("volume.readMode", "proxy", "[local|proxy|redirect] how to deal with non-local volume: 'not found|read in remote node|redirect volume location'.")
 	serverOptions.v.compactionMBPerSecond = cmdServer.Flag.Int("volume.compactionMBps", 0, "limit compaction speed in mega bytes per second")
 	serverOptions.v.fileSizeLimitMB = cmdServer.Flag.Int("volume.fileSizeLimitMB", 256, "limit file size to avoid out of memory")
+	serverOptions.v.ldbTimeout = cmdServer.Flag.Int64("volume.index.leveldbTimeout", 0, "alive time for leveldb (default to 0). If leveldb of volume is not accessed in ldbTimeout hours, it will be off loaded to reduce opened files and memory consumption.")
 	serverOptions.v.concurrentUploadLimitMB = cmdServer.Flag.Int("volume.concurrentUploadLimitMB", 64, "limit total concurrent upload size")
 	serverOptions.v.concurrentDownloadLimitMB = cmdServer.Flag.Int("volume.concurrentDownloadLimitMB", 64, "limit total concurrent download size")
 	serverOptions.v.publicUrl = cmdServer.Flag.String("volume.publicUrl", "", "publicly accessible address")
diff --git a/weed/command/volume.go b/weed/command/volume.go
index e0bc8b8fe..30337a62a 100644
--- a/weed/command/volume.go
+++ b/weed/command/volume.go
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ type VolumeServerOptions struct {
 	inflightUploadDataTimeout *time.Duration
 	hasSlowRead               *bool
 	readBufferSizeMB          *int
+	ldbTimeout                *int64
 }
 
 func init() {
@@ -92,6 +93,7 @@ func init() {
 	v.memProfile = cmdVolume.Flag.String("memprofile", "", "memory profile output file")
 	v.compactionMBPerSecond = cmdVolume.Flag.Int("compactionMBps", 0, "limit background compaction or copying speed in mega bytes per second")
 	v.fileSizeLimitMB = cmdVolume.Flag.Int("fileSizeLimitMB", 256, "limit file size to avoid out of memory")
+	v.ldbTimeout = cmdVolume.Flag.Int64("index.leveldbTimeout", 0, "alive time for leveldb (default to 0). If leveldb of volume is not accessed in ldbTimeout hours, it will be off loaded to reduce opened files and memory consumption.")
 	v.concurrentUploadLimitMB = cmdVolume.Flag.Int("concurrentUploadLimitMB", 256, "limit total concurrent upload size")
 	v.concurrentDownloadLimitMB = cmdVolume.Flag.Int("concurrentDownloadLimitMB", 256, "limit total concurrent download size")
 	v.pprof = cmdVolume.Flag.Bool("pprof", false, "enable pprof http handlers. precludes --memprofile and --cpuprofile")
@@ -249,6 +251,7 @@ func (v VolumeServerOptions) startVolumeServer(volumeFolders, maxVolumeCounts, v
 		*v.inflightUploadDataTimeout,
 		*v.hasSlowRead,
 		*v.readBufferSizeMB,
+		*v.ldbTimeout,
 	)
 	// starting grpc server
 	grpcS := v.startGrpcService(volumeServer)
diff --git a/weed/server/volume_grpc_admin.go b/weed/server/volume_grpc_admin.go
index 790e6e32a..24a9650e7 100644
--- a/weed/server/volume_grpc_admin.go
+++ b/weed/server/volume_grpc_admin.go
@@ -3,10 +3,11 @@ package weed_server
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
-	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/storage"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/storage"
+
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/cluster"
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/pb"
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/pb/filer_pb"
@@ -50,6 +51,7 @@ func (vs *VolumeServer) AllocateVolume(ctx context.Context, req *volume_server_p
 		req.Preallocate,
 		req.MemoryMapMaxSizeMb,
 		types.ToDiskType(req.DiskType),
+		vs.ldbTimout,
 	)
 
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/weed/server/volume_server.go b/weed/server/volume_server.go
index 8c6c63c56..5d7e5c7b0 100644
--- a/weed/server/volume_server.go
+++ b/weed/server/volume_server.go
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ type VolumeServer struct {
 	grpcDialOption  grpc.DialOption
 
 	needleMapKind           storage.NeedleMapKind
+	ldbTimout               int64
 	FixJpgOrientation       bool
 	ReadMode                string
 	compactionBytePerSecond int64
@@ -68,6 +69,7 @@ func NewVolumeServer(adminMux, publicMux *http.ServeMux, ip string,
 	inflightUploadDataTimeout time.Duration,
 	hasSlowRead bool,
 	readBufferSizeMB int,
+	ldbTimeout int64,
 ) *VolumeServer {
 
 	v := util.GetViper()
@@ -99,12 +101,13 @@ func NewVolumeServer(adminMux, publicMux *http.ServeMux, ip string,
 		inflightUploadDataTimeout:     inflightUploadDataTimeout,
 		hasSlowRead:                   hasSlowRead,
 		readBufferSizeMB:              readBufferSizeMB,
+		ldbTimout:                     ldbTimeout,
 	}
 	vs.SeedMasterNodes = masterNodes
 
 	vs.checkWithMaster()
 
-	vs.store = storage.NewStore(vs.grpcDialOption, ip, port, grpcPort, publicUrl, folders, maxCounts, minFreeSpaces, idxFolder, vs.needleMapKind, diskTypes)
+	vs.store = storage.NewStore(vs.grpcDialOption, ip, port, grpcPort, publicUrl, folders, maxCounts, minFreeSpaces, idxFolder, vs.needleMapKind, diskTypes, ldbTimeout)
 	vs.guard = security.NewGuard(whiteList, signingKey, expiresAfterSec, readSigningKey, readExpiresAfterSec)
 
 	handleStaticResources(adminMux)
diff --git a/weed/storage/disk_location.go b/weed/storage/disk_location.go
index b3be04703..0629acff7 100644
--- a/weed/storage/disk_location.go
+++ b/weed/storage/disk_location.go
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ func getValidVolumeName(basename string) string {
 	return ""
 }
 
-func (l *DiskLocation) loadExistingVolume(dirEntry os.DirEntry, needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, skipIfEcVolumesExists bool) bool {
+func (l *DiskLocation) loadExistingVolume(dirEntry os.DirEntry, needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, skipIfEcVolumesExists bool, ldbTimeout int64) bool {
 	basename := dirEntry.Name()
 	if dirEntry.IsDir() {
 		return false
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ func (l *DiskLocation) loadExistingVolume(dirEntry os.DirEntry, needleMapKind Ne
 	}
 
 	// load the volume
-	v, e := NewVolume(l.Directory, l.IdxDirectory, collection, vid, needleMapKind, nil, nil, 0, 0)
+	v, e := NewVolume(l.Directory, l.IdxDirectory, collection, vid, needleMapKind, nil, nil, 0, 0, ldbTimeout)
 	if e != nil {
 		glog.V(0).Infof("new volume %s error %s", volumeName, e)
 		return false
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ func (l *DiskLocation) loadExistingVolume(dirEntry os.DirEntry, needleMapKind Ne
 	return true
 }
 
-func (l *DiskLocation) concurrentLoadingVolumes(needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, concurrency int) {
+func (l *DiskLocation) concurrentLoadingVolumes(needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, concurrency int, ldbTimeout int64) {
 
 	task_queue := make(chan os.DirEntry, 10*concurrency)
 	go func() {
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ func (l *DiskLocation) concurrentLoadingVolumes(needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, con
 		go func() {
 			defer wg.Done()
 			for fi := range task_queue {
-				_ = l.loadExistingVolume(fi, needleMapKind, true)
+				_ = l.loadExistingVolume(fi, needleMapKind, true, ldbTimeout)
 			}
 		}()
 	}
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ func (l *DiskLocation) concurrentLoadingVolumes(needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, con
 
 }
 
-func (l *DiskLocation) loadExistingVolumes(needleMapKind NeedleMapKind) {
+func (l *DiskLocation) loadExistingVolumes(needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, ldbTimeout int64) {
 
 	workerNum := runtime.NumCPU()
 	val, ok := os.LookupEnv("GOMAXPROCS")
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ func (l *DiskLocation) loadExistingVolumes(needleMapKind NeedleMapKind) {
 			workerNum = 10
 		}
 	}
-	l.concurrentLoadingVolumes(needleMapKind, workerNum)
+	l.concurrentLoadingVolumes(needleMapKind, workerNum, ldbTimeout)
 	glog.V(0).Infof("Store started on dir: %s with %d volumes max %d", l.Directory, len(l.volumes), l.MaxVolumeCount)
 
 	l.loadAllEcShards()
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ func (l *DiskLocation) deleteVolumeById(vid needle.VolumeId) (found bool, e erro
 
 func (l *DiskLocation) LoadVolume(vid needle.VolumeId, needleMapKind NeedleMapKind) bool {
 	if fileInfo, found := l.LocateVolume(vid); found {
-		return l.loadExistingVolume(fileInfo, needleMapKind, false)
+		return l.loadExistingVolume(fileInfo, needleMapKind, false, 0)
 	}
 	return false
 }
diff --git a/weed/storage/idx_binary_search_test.go b/weed/storage/idx_binary_search_test.go
index 48f48852e..07eacb898 100644
--- a/weed/storage/idx_binary_search_test.go
+++ b/weed/storage/idx_binary_search_test.go
@@ -1,19 +1,20 @@
 package storage
 
 import (
+	"os"
+	"testing"
+
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/storage/idx"
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/storage/needle"
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/storage/super_block"
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/storage/types"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
-	"os"
-	"testing"
 )
 
 func TestFirstInvalidIndex(t *testing.T) {
 	dir := t.TempDir()
 
-	v, err := NewVolume(dir, dir, "", 1, NeedleMapInMemory, &super_block.ReplicaPlacement{}, &needle.TTL{}, 0, 0)
+	v, err := NewVolume(dir, dir, "", 1, NeedleMapInMemory, &super_block.ReplicaPlacement{}, &needle.TTL{}, 0, 0, 0)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("volume creation: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/weed/storage/needle_map.go b/weed/storage/needle_map.go
index 0e49da959..5feb4a754 100644
--- a/weed/storage/needle_map.go
+++ b/weed/storage/needle_map.go
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ type baseNeedleMapper struct {
 type TempNeedleMapper interface {
 	NeedleMapper
 	DoOffsetLoading(v *Volume, indexFile *os.File, startFrom uint64) error
-	UpdateNeedleMap(v *Volume, indexFile *os.File, opts *opt.Options) error
+	UpdateNeedleMap(v *Volume, indexFile *os.File, opts *opt.Options, ldbTimeout int64) error
 }
 
 func (nm *baseNeedleMapper) IndexFileSize() uint64 {
diff --git a/weed/storage/needle_map_leveldb.go b/weed/storage/needle_map_leveldb.go
index 1566ca7a0..a5a543ba2 100644
--- a/weed/storage/needle_map_leveldb.go
+++ b/weed/storage/needle_map_leveldb.go
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/syndtr/goleveldb/leveldb/errors"
 	"github.com/syndtr/goleveldb/leveldb/opt"
@@ -26,12 +28,18 @@ var watermarkKey = []byte("idx_entry_watermark")
 
 type LevelDbNeedleMap struct {
 	baseNeedleMapper
-	dbFileName  string
-	db          *leveldb.DB
+	dbFileName    string
+	db            *leveldb.DB
+	ldbOpts       *opt.Options
+	ldbAccessLock sync.RWMutex
+	exitChan      chan bool
+	// no need to use atomic
+	accessFlag  int64
+	ldbTimeout  int64
 	recordCount uint64
 }
 
-func NewLevelDbNeedleMap(dbFileName string, indexFile *os.File, opts *opt.Options) (m *LevelDbNeedleMap, err error) {
+func NewLevelDbNeedleMap(dbFileName string, indexFile *os.File, opts *opt.Options, ldbTimeout int64) (m *LevelDbNeedleMap, err error) {
 	m = &LevelDbNeedleMap{dbFileName: dbFileName}
 	m.indexFile = indexFile
 	if !isLevelDbFresh(dbFileName, indexFile) {
@@ -46,27 +54,36 @@ func NewLevelDbNeedleMap(dbFileName string, indexFile *os.File, opts *opt.Option
 	}
 	glog.V(1).Infof("Opening %s...", dbFileName)
 
-	if m.db, err = leveldb.OpenFile(dbFileName, opts); err != nil {
-		if errors.IsCorrupted(err) {
-			m.db, err = leveldb.RecoverFile(dbFileName, opts)
+	if m.ldbTimeout == 0 {
+		if m.db, err = leveldb.OpenFile(dbFileName, opts); err != nil {
+			if errors.IsCorrupted(err) {
+				m.db, err = leveldb.RecoverFile(dbFileName, opts)
+			}
+			if err != nil {
+				return
+			}
 		}
+		glog.V(0).Infof("Loading %s... , watermark: %d", dbFileName, getWatermark(m.db))
+		m.recordCount = uint64(m.indexFileOffset / NeedleMapEntrySize)
+		watermark := (m.recordCount / watermarkBatchSize) * watermarkBatchSize
+		err = setWatermark(m.db, watermark)
 		if err != nil {
+			glog.Fatalf("set watermark for %s error: %s\n", dbFileName, err)
 			return
 		}
 	}
-	glog.V(0).Infof("Loading %s... , watermark: %d", dbFileName, getWatermark(m.db))
-	m.recordCount = uint64(m.indexFileOffset / NeedleMapEntrySize)
-	watermark := (m.recordCount / watermarkBatchSize) * watermarkBatchSize
-	err = setWatermark(m.db, watermark)
-	if err != nil {
-		glog.Fatalf("set watermark for %s error: %s\n", dbFileName, err)
-		return
-	}
 	mm, indexLoadError := newNeedleMapMetricFromIndexFile(indexFile)
 	if indexLoadError != nil {
 		return nil, indexLoadError
 	}
 	m.mapMetric = *mm
+	m.ldbTimeout = ldbTimeout
+	if m.ldbTimeout > 0 {
+		m.ldbOpts = opts
+		m.exitChan = make(chan bool, 1)
+		m.accessFlag = 0
+		go lazyLoadingRoutine(m)
+	}
 	return
 }
 
@@ -116,6 +133,14 @@ func generateLevelDbFile(dbFileName string, indexFile *os.File) error {
 
 func (m *LevelDbNeedleMap) Get(key NeedleId) (element *needle_map.NeedleValue, ok bool) {
 	bytes := make([]byte, NeedleIdSize)
+	if m.ldbTimeout > 0 {
+		m.ldbAccessLock.RLock()
+		defer m.ldbAccessLock.RUnlock()
+		loadErr := reloadLdb(m)
+		if loadErr != nil {
+			return nil, false
+		}
+	}
 	NeedleIdToBytes(bytes[0:NeedleIdSize], key)
 	data, err := m.db.Get(bytes, nil)
 	if err != nil || len(data) != OffsetSize+SizeSize {
@@ -129,6 +154,14 @@ func (m *LevelDbNeedleMap) Get(key NeedleId) (element *needle_map.NeedleValue, o
 func (m *LevelDbNeedleMap) Put(key NeedleId, offset Offset, size Size) error {
 	var oldSize Size
 	var watermark uint64
+	if m.ldbTimeout > 0 {
+		m.ldbAccessLock.RLock()
+		defer m.ldbAccessLock.RUnlock()
+		loadErr := reloadLdb(m)
+		if loadErr != nil {
+			return loadErr
+		}
+	}
 	if oldNeedle, ok := m.Get(key); ok {
 		oldSize = oldNeedle.Size
 	}
@@ -188,6 +221,14 @@ func levelDbDelete(db *leveldb.DB, key NeedleId) error {
 
 func (m *LevelDbNeedleMap) Delete(key NeedleId, offset Offset) error {
 	var watermark uint64
+	if m.ldbTimeout > 0 {
+		m.ldbAccessLock.RLock()
+		defer m.ldbAccessLock.RUnlock()
+		loadErr := reloadLdb(m)
+		if loadErr != nil {
+			return loadErr
+		}
+	}
 	oldNeedle, found := m.Get(key)
 	if !found || oldNeedle.Size.IsDeleted() {
 		return nil
@@ -223,6 +264,9 @@ func (m *LevelDbNeedleMap) Close() {
 			glog.Warningf("close levelDB failed: %v", err)
 		}
 	}
+	if m.ldbTimeout > 0 {
+		m.exitChan <- true
+	}
 }
 
 func (m *LevelDbNeedleMap) Destroy() error {
@@ -231,7 +275,7 @@ func (m *LevelDbNeedleMap) Destroy() error {
 	return os.RemoveAll(m.dbFileName)
 }
 
-func (m *LevelDbNeedleMap) UpdateNeedleMap(v *Volume, indexFile *os.File, opts *opt.Options) error {
+func (m *LevelDbNeedleMap) UpdateNeedleMap(v *Volume, indexFile *os.File, opts *opt.Options, ldbTimeout int64) error {
 	if v.nm != nil {
 		v.nm.Close()
 		v.nm = nil
@@ -280,6 +324,13 @@ func (m *LevelDbNeedleMap) UpdateNeedleMap(v *Volume, indexFile *os.File, opts *
 	}
 	v.nm = m
 	v.tmpNm = nil
+	m.ldbTimeout = ldbTimeout
+	if m.ldbTimeout > 0 {
+		m.ldbOpts = opts
+		m.exitChan = make(chan bool, 1)
+		m.accessFlag = 0
+		go lazyLoadingRoutine(m)
+	}
 	return e
 }
 
@@ -348,3 +399,61 @@ func (m *LevelDbNeedleMap) DoOffsetLoading(v *Volume, indexFile *os.File, startF
 	})
 	return err
 }
+
+func reloadLdb(m *LevelDbNeedleMap) (err error) {
+	if m.db != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	glog.V(1).Infof("reloading leveldb %s", m.dbFileName)
+	m.accessFlag = 1
+	if m.db, err = leveldb.OpenFile(m.dbFileName, m.ldbOpts); err != nil {
+		if errors.IsCorrupted(err) {
+			m.db, err = leveldb.RecoverFile(m.dbFileName, m.ldbOpts)
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			glog.Fatalf("RecoverFile %s failed:%v", m.dbFileName, err)
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func unloadLdb(m *LevelDbNeedleMap) (err error) {
+	m.ldbAccessLock.Lock()
+	defer m.ldbAccessLock.Unlock()
+	if m.db != nil {
+		glog.V(1).Infof("reached max idle count, unload leveldb, %s", m.dbFileName)
+		m.db.Close()
+		m.db = nil
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func lazyLoadingRoutine(m *LevelDbNeedleMap) (err error) {
+	glog.V(1).Infof("lazyLoadingRoutine %s", m.dbFileName)
+	var accessRecord int64
+	accessRecord = 1
+	for {
+		select {
+		case exit := <-m.exitChan:
+			if exit {
+				glog.V(1).Infof("exit from lazyLoadingRoutine")
+				return nil
+			}
+		case <-time.After(time.Hour * 1):
+			glog.V(1).Infof("timeout %s", m.dbFileName)
+			if m.accessFlag == 0 {
+				accessRecord++
+				glog.V(1).Infof("accessRecord++")
+				if accessRecord >= m.ldbTimeout {
+					unloadLdb(m)
+				}
+			} else {
+				glog.V(1).Infof("reset accessRecord %s", m.dbFileName)
+				// reset accessRecord
+				accessRecord = 0
+			}
+			continue
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/weed/storage/needle_map_memory.go b/weed/storage/needle_map_memory.go
index 7721980ee..a2beb6c33 100644
--- a/weed/storage/needle_map_memory.go
+++ b/weed/storage/needle_map_memory.go
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ func (nm *NeedleMap) Destroy() error {
 	return os.Remove(nm.indexFile.Name())
 }
 
-func (nm *NeedleMap) UpdateNeedleMap(v *Volume, indexFile *os.File, opts *opt.Options) error {
+func (nm *NeedleMap) UpdateNeedleMap(v *Volume, indexFile *os.File, opts *opt.Options, ldbTimeout int64) error {
 	if v.nm != nil {
 		v.nm.Close()
 		v.nm = nil
diff --git a/weed/storage/store.go b/weed/storage/store.go
index 3be0f58bf..40bb7bbe7 100644
--- a/weed/storage/store.go
+++ b/weed/storage/store.go
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ func (s *Store) String() (str string) {
 }
 
 func NewStore(grpcDialOption grpc.DialOption, ip string, port int, grpcPort int, publicUrl string, dirnames []string, maxVolumeCounts []int32,
-	minFreeSpaces []util.MinFreeSpace, idxFolder string, needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, diskTypes []DiskType) (s *Store) {
+	minFreeSpaces []util.MinFreeSpace, idxFolder string, needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, diskTypes []DiskType, ldbTimeout int64) (s *Store) {
 	s = &Store{grpcDialOption: grpcDialOption, Port: port, Ip: ip, GrpcPort: grpcPort, PublicUrl: publicUrl, NeedleMapKind: needleMapKind}
 	s.Locations = make([]*DiskLocation, 0)
 
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ func NewStore(grpcDialOption grpc.DialOption, ip string, port int, grpcPort int,
 		wg.Add(1)
 		go func() {
 			defer wg.Done()
-			location.loadExistingVolumes(needleMapKind)
+			location.loadExistingVolumes(needleMapKind, ldbTimeout)
 		}()
 	}
 	wg.Wait()
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ func NewStore(grpcDialOption grpc.DialOption, ip string, port int, grpcPort int,
 
 	return
 }
-func (s *Store) AddVolume(volumeId needle.VolumeId, collection string, needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, replicaPlacement string, ttlString string, preallocate int64, MemoryMapMaxSizeMb uint32, diskType DiskType) error {
+func (s *Store) AddVolume(volumeId needle.VolumeId, collection string, needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, replicaPlacement string, ttlString string, preallocate int64, MemoryMapMaxSizeMb uint32, diskType DiskType, ldbTimeout int64) error {
 	rt, e := super_block.NewReplicaPlacementFromString(replicaPlacement)
 	if e != nil {
 		return e
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ func (s *Store) AddVolume(volumeId needle.VolumeId, collection string, needleMap
 	if e != nil {
 		return e
 	}
-	e = s.addVolume(volumeId, collection, needleMapKind, rt, ttl, preallocate, MemoryMapMaxSizeMb, diskType)
+	e = s.addVolume(volumeId, collection, needleMapKind, rt, ttl, preallocate, MemoryMapMaxSizeMb, diskType, ldbTimeout)
 	return e
 }
 func (s *Store) DeleteCollection(collection string) (e error) {
@@ -158,14 +158,14 @@ func (s *Store) FindFreeLocation(diskType DiskType) (ret *DiskLocation) {
 	}
 	return ret
 }
-func (s *Store) addVolume(vid needle.VolumeId, collection string, needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, replicaPlacement *super_block.ReplicaPlacement, ttl *needle.TTL, preallocate int64, memoryMapMaxSizeMb uint32, diskType DiskType) error {
+func (s *Store) addVolume(vid needle.VolumeId, collection string, needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, replicaPlacement *super_block.ReplicaPlacement, ttl *needle.TTL, preallocate int64, memoryMapMaxSizeMb uint32, diskType DiskType, ldbTimeout int64) error {
 	if s.findVolume(vid) != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("Volume Id %d already exists!", vid)
 	}
 	if location := s.FindFreeLocation(diskType); location != nil {
 		glog.V(0).Infof("In dir %s adds volume:%v collection:%s replicaPlacement:%v ttl:%v",
 			location.Directory, vid, collection, replicaPlacement, ttl)
-		if volume, err := NewVolume(location.Directory, location.IdxDirectory, collection, vid, needleMapKind, replicaPlacement, ttl, preallocate, memoryMapMaxSizeMb); err == nil {
+		if volume, err := NewVolume(location.Directory, location.IdxDirectory, collection, vid, needleMapKind, replicaPlacement, ttl, preallocate, memoryMapMaxSizeMb, ldbTimeout); err == nil {
 			location.SetVolume(vid, volume)
 			glog.V(0).Infof("add volume %d", vid)
 			s.NewVolumesChan <- master_pb.VolumeShortInformationMessage{
@@ -373,7 +373,7 @@ func (s *Store) SetStopping() {
 
 func (s *Store) LoadNewVolumes() {
 	for _, location := range s.Locations {
-		location.loadExistingVolumes(s.NeedleMapKind)
+		location.loadExistingVolumes(s.NeedleMapKind, 0)
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/weed/storage/volume.go b/weed/storage/volume.go
index ab8af91e2..b4cd7b560 100644
--- a/weed/storage/volume.go
+++ b/weed/storage/volume.go
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ type Volume struct {
 
 	lastCompactIndexOffset uint64
 	lastCompactRevision    uint16
+	ldbTimeout             int64
 
 	isCompacting       bool
 	isCommitCompacting bool
@@ -53,12 +54,13 @@ type Volume struct {
 	lastIoError error
 }
 
-func NewVolume(dirname string, dirIdx string, collection string, id needle.VolumeId, needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, replicaPlacement *super_block.ReplicaPlacement, ttl *needle.TTL, preallocate int64, memoryMapMaxSizeMb uint32) (v *Volume, e error) {
+func NewVolume(dirname string, dirIdx string, collection string, id needle.VolumeId, needleMapKind NeedleMapKind, replicaPlacement *super_block.ReplicaPlacement, ttl *needle.TTL, preallocate int64, memoryMapMaxSizeMb uint32, ldbTimeout int64) (v *Volume, e error) {
 	// if replicaPlacement is nil, the superblock will be loaded from disk
 	v = &Volume{dir: dirname, dirIdx: dirIdx, Collection: collection, Id: id, MemoryMapMaxSizeMb: memoryMapMaxSizeMb,
 		asyncRequestsChan: make(chan *needle.AsyncRequest, 128)}
 	v.SuperBlock = super_block.SuperBlock{ReplicaPlacement: replicaPlacement, Ttl: ttl}
 	v.needleMapKind = needleMapKind
+	v.ldbTimeout = ldbTimeout
 	e = v.load(true, true, needleMapKind, preallocate)
 	v.startWorker()
 	return
diff --git a/weed/storage/volume_loading.go b/weed/storage/volume_loading.go
index dac0e22a2..78dfa6901 100644
--- a/weed/storage/volume_loading.go
+++ b/weed/storage/volume_loading.go
@@ -2,9 +2,10 @@ package storage
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
-	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/storage/types"
 	"os"
 
+	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/storage/types"
+
 	"github.com/syndtr/goleveldb/leveldb/opt"
 
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/glog"
@@ -136,7 +137,7 @@ func (v *Volume) load(alsoLoadIndex bool, createDatIfMissing bool, needleMapKind
 			case NeedleMapInMemory:
 				if v.tmpNm != nil {
 					glog.V(0).Infof("updating memory compact index %s ", v.FileName(".idx"))
-					err = v.tmpNm.UpdateNeedleMap(v, indexFile, nil)
+					err = v.tmpNm.UpdateNeedleMap(v, indexFile, nil, 0)
 				} else {
 					glog.V(0).Infoln("loading memory index", v.FileName(".idx"), "to memory")
 					if v.nm, err = LoadCompactNeedleMap(indexFile); err != nil {
@@ -151,10 +152,10 @@ func (v *Volume) load(alsoLoadIndex bool, createDatIfMissing bool, needleMapKind
 				}
 				if v.tmpNm != nil {
 					glog.V(0).Infoln("updating leveldb index", v.FileName(".ldb"))
-					err = v.tmpNm.UpdateNeedleMap(v, indexFile, opts)
+					err = v.tmpNm.UpdateNeedleMap(v, indexFile, opts, v.ldbTimeout)
 				} else {
 					glog.V(0).Infoln("loading leveldb index", v.FileName(".ldb"))
-					if v.nm, err = NewLevelDbNeedleMap(v.FileName(".ldb"), indexFile, opts); err != nil {
+					if v.nm, err = NewLevelDbNeedleMap(v.FileName(".ldb"), indexFile, opts, v.ldbTimeout); err != nil {
 						glog.V(0).Infof("loading leveldb %s error: %v", v.FileName(".ldb"), err)
 					}
 				}
@@ -166,10 +167,10 @@ func (v *Volume) load(alsoLoadIndex bool, createDatIfMissing bool, needleMapKind
 				}
 				if v.tmpNm != nil {
 					glog.V(0).Infoln("updating leveldb medium index", v.FileName(".ldb"))
-					err = v.tmpNm.UpdateNeedleMap(v, indexFile, opts)
+					err = v.tmpNm.UpdateNeedleMap(v, indexFile, opts, v.ldbTimeout)
 				} else {
 					glog.V(0).Infoln("loading leveldb medium index", v.FileName(".ldb"))
-					if v.nm, err = NewLevelDbNeedleMap(v.FileName(".ldb"), indexFile, opts); err != nil {
+					if v.nm, err = NewLevelDbNeedleMap(v.FileName(".ldb"), indexFile, opts, v.ldbTimeout); err != nil {
 						glog.V(0).Infof("loading leveldb %s error: %v", v.FileName(".ldb"), err)
 					}
 				}
@@ -181,10 +182,10 @@ func (v *Volume) load(alsoLoadIndex bool, createDatIfMissing bool, needleMapKind
 				}
 				if v.tmpNm != nil {
 					glog.V(0).Infoln("updating leveldb large index", v.FileName(".ldb"))
-					err = v.tmpNm.UpdateNeedleMap(v, indexFile, opts)
+					err = v.tmpNm.UpdateNeedleMap(v, indexFile, opts, v.ldbTimeout)
 				} else {
 					glog.V(0).Infoln("loading leveldb large index", v.FileName(".ldb"))
-					if v.nm, err = NewLevelDbNeedleMap(v.FileName(".ldb"), indexFile, opts); err != nil {
+					if v.nm, err = NewLevelDbNeedleMap(v.FileName(".ldb"), indexFile, opts, v.ldbTimeout); err != nil {
 						glog.V(0).Infof("loading leveldb %s error: %v", v.FileName(".ldb"), err)
 					}
 				}
diff --git a/weed/storage/volume_read_test.go b/weed/storage/volume_read_test.go
index f1d0aa2fc..02c514083 100644
--- a/weed/storage/volume_read_test.go
+++ b/weed/storage/volume_read_test.go
@@ -1,17 +1,18 @@
 package storage
 
 import (
+	"testing"
+
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/storage/needle"
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/storage/super_block"
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/storage/types"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
-	"testing"
 )
 
 func TestReadNeedMetaWithWritesAndUpdates(t *testing.T) {
 	dir := t.TempDir()
 
-	v, err := NewVolume(dir, dir, "", 1, NeedleMapInMemory, &super_block.ReplicaPlacement{}, &needle.TTL{}, 0, 0)
+	v, err := NewVolume(dir, dir, "", 1, NeedleMapInMemory, &super_block.ReplicaPlacement{}, &needle.TTL{}, 0, 0, 0)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("volume creation: %v", err)
 	}
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ func TestReadNeedMetaWithWritesAndUpdates(t *testing.T) {
 func TestReadNeedMetaWithDeletesThenWrites(t *testing.T) {
 	dir := t.TempDir()
 
-	v, err := NewVolume(dir, dir, "", 1, NeedleMapInMemory, &super_block.ReplicaPlacement{}, &needle.TTL{}, 0, 0)
+	v, err := NewVolume(dir, dir, "", 1, NeedleMapInMemory, &super_block.ReplicaPlacement{}, &needle.TTL{}, 0, 0, 0)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("volume creation: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/weed/storage/volume_vacuum_test.go b/weed/storage/volume_vacuum_test.go
index d26fc7ab7..079b7ccf5 100644
--- a/weed/storage/volume_vacuum_test.go
+++ b/weed/storage/volume_vacuum_test.go
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ func TestLDBIndexCompaction(t *testing.T) {
 func testCompaction(t *testing.T, needleMapKind NeedleMapKind) {
 	dir := t.TempDir()
 
-	v, err := NewVolume(dir, dir, "", 1, needleMapKind, &super_block.ReplicaPlacement{}, &needle.TTL{}, 0, 0)
+	v, err := NewVolume(dir, dir, "", 1, needleMapKind, &super_block.ReplicaPlacement{}, &needle.TTL{}, 0, 0, 0)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("volume creation: %v", err)
 	}
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ func testCompaction(t *testing.T, needleMapKind NeedleMapKind) {
 
 	v.Close()
 
-	v, err = NewVolume(dir, dir, "", 1, needleMapKind, nil, nil, 0, 0)
+	v, err = NewVolume(dir, dir, "", 1, needleMapKind, nil, nil, 0, 0, 0)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("volume reloading: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/weed/storage/volume_write_test.go b/weed/storage/volume_write_test.go
index 2fd4026cd..9979aa8f5 100644
--- a/weed/storage/volume_write_test.go
+++ b/weed/storage/volume_write_test.go
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import (
 func TestSearchVolumesWithDeletedNeedles(t *testing.T) {
 	dir := t.TempDir()
 
-	v, err := NewVolume(dir, dir, "", 1, NeedleMapInMemory, &super_block.ReplicaPlacement{}, &needle.TTL{}, 0, 0)
+	v, err := NewVolume(dir, dir, "", 1, NeedleMapInMemory, &super_block.ReplicaPlacement{}, &needle.TTL{}, 0, 0, 0)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("volume creation: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/weed/util/chunk_cache/chunk_cache_on_disk.go b/weed/util/chunk_cache/chunk_cache_on_disk.go
index 3fc9cf0b4..3968f62e9 100644
--- a/weed/util/chunk_cache/chunk_cache_on_disk.go
+++ b/weed/util/chunk_cache/chunk_cache_on_disk.go
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ func LoadOrCreateChunkCacheVolume(fileName string, preallocate int64) (*ChunkCac
 		WriteBuffer:                   1 * 1024 * 1024, // default value is 4MiB
 		CompactionTableSizeMultiplier: 10,              // default value is 1
 	}
-	if v.nm, err = storage.NewLevelDbNeedleMap(v.fileName+".ldb", indexFile, opts); err != nil {
+	if v.nm, err = storage.NewLevelDbNeedleMap(v.fileName+".ldb", indexFile, opts, 0); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("loading leveldb %s error: %v", v.fileName+".ldb", err)
 	}