How long does Site24x7 retain my logs for searching?
Log retention for searching
Log search retention refers to the number of days your collected log data is stored and available for searching in Site24x7.
- For customers who signed up before August 2024, the default log search retention is 30 days.
- For customers who signed up after August 2024, the default log search retention is set to seven days.
Site24x7 stores log data collected for log management for a maximum of 90 days. If you want to store logs long-term for auditing purposes, please contact support@site24x7.com.
Customizing your log retention period
You can choose from the predefined search retention options of 7, 15, 30, 60, or 90 days to retain your logs.
For existing log types, you can change the search retention period through the following steps:
- Go to Admin > AppLogs > Log Types.
- Click your desired log type to edit.
- Choose the number of days from the drop-down next to the Search Retention (days) field.
- Click Save.
For new log types, you can select the Search Retention (days) option when creating the log type.
Refer to this documentation to limit log uploads from a specific log type.
AppLogs license
The AppLogs license determines the maximum amount of log data that can be uploaded to Site24x7 during a monthly billing cycle. This is calculated based on your subscription and is valid through the monthly billing cycle, after which it gets reset automatically.
For customers who signed up after August 2024, refer to this document
In the previous billing plan, prior to August 2024, the default retention period was 30 days. By reducing the retention period, you could upload more logs, whereas increasing the retention period would result in fewer logs that could be uploaded.
In the new plan, after August 2024, the default retention period is 7 days. Increasing the retention period decreases the size of the logs you upload, making it easier to handle your data.
Retention days | Actual log size | Billable log size (before August 2024) | Billable log size (after August 2024) |
7 days | 1GB | 500MB | 1GB (default) |
15 days | 1GB | 750MB | 2GB |
30 days | 1GB | 1GB (default) | 4GB |
60 days | 1GB | 2GB | 8GB |
90 days | 1GB | 3GB | 12GB |
The use cases and FAQ section below are valid only for customers who signed up before August 2024.
Use cases
To understand further, let's consider these two scenarios:
Scenario 1: A search retention of 30 days with 10GB of log storage per monthly billing cycle
Imagine that you have purchased a 10GB add-on of log storage per monthly billing cycle with a 30-day search retention period configured for all log types.
If you upload 10GB of logs during this 30-day retention period, you will be billed for the entire 10GB.
If you exhaust your monthly log storage limit before the end of the 30 days, you can either purchase additional add-ons or wait until the next month for the AppLogs limit to reset. If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out to sales@site24x7.com.
Scenario 2: A search retention of seven days with 10GB of log storage per monthly billing cycle
Imagine that you have purchased a 10GB add-on for log storage per monthly billing cycle with a seven-day search retention period configured for all log types.
If you upload 10GB of logs during this seven-day retention period, you will be billed for only 5GB. This means you can still upload another 10GB of logs during the remaining days of your monthly billing cycle.
Consequently, you can upload up to 20GB of log data with the seven-day retention period using just one add-on instead of two.
At the end of day seven, the logs you uploaded on day one will be removed from your Site24x7 account. This means you will no longer be able to perform searches on them. Log space consumed during the current billing cycle cannot be deleted and reused until the next billing cycle. This way, if you upload the additional 10GB of logs in the next seven days (for a total of 20GB), it will exhaust your monthly log storage limit.
At that point, you can either purchase additional add-ons or wait until the next month for the AppLogs limit to reset. If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out to sales@site24x7.com.
FAQ
I am uploading less than 3GB per day and have a retention period of seven days. How much log space should I purchase?
To calculate the log space needed, use the formula below:
- Formula: Logs used per day x monthly billing period (the total number of days logs are collected) = Required log space
- Example: For 3GB per day over 30 days, 3GB/day x 30 days = 90GB required per billing cycle
- With a seven-day retention: Every 1GB of uploads will be billed as 500MB.
So, for 3GB per day with a seven-day retention for all log types, approximately 45GB is needed per billing cycle. We recommend that you purchase five add-ons (50GB of log space).
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