Index: src/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/HConstants.java =================================================================== --- src/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/HConstants.java (revision 692505) +++ src/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/HConstants.java (working copy) @@ -92,6 +92,9 @@ /** Parameter name for how often threads should wake up */ static final String THREAD_WAKE_FREQUENCY = "hbase.server.thread.wakefrequency"; + + /** Parameter name for how often a region should should perform a major compaction */ + static final String MAJOR_COMPACTION_PERIOD = "hbase.hregion.majorcompaction"; /** Parameter name for HBase instance root directory */ static final String HBASE_DIR = "hbase.rootdir"; Index: src/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/regionserver/HStore.java =================================================================== --- src/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/regionserver/HStore.java (revision 692505) +++ src/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/regionserver/HStore.java (working copy) @@ -188,7 +188,13 @@ } this.desiredMaxFileSize = maxFileSize; - this.majorCompactionTime = conf.getLong("hbase.hregion.majorcompaction", 86400000); + this.majorCompactionTime = conf.getLong(HConstants.MAJOR_COMPACTION_PERIOD, 86400000); + + if (family.getValue(HConstants.MAJOR_COMPACTION_PERIOD) != null) { + String strCompactionTime = family.getValue(HConstants.MAJOR_COMPACTION_PERIOD); + this.majorCompactionTime = (new Long(strCompactionTime)).longValue(); + } + this.maxFilesToCompact = conf.getInt("hbase.hstore.compaction.max", 10); this.storeSize = 0L;