How to select the right log storage retention for log management

How to select the right log storage retention for log management

Log storage retention settings determine how long the collected log data can be retained for long-term storage. Site24x7 provides flexible log storage retention add-ons that allow organizations to store their log data for extended periods ranging from six months up to five years, ensuring logs remain accessible during past incident analysis and regulatory demands.

Add log storage retention

To enable log storage retention, navigate to Admin > AppLogs > Log Types and you can use the following options:
  1. Select the Log Types in which you want to retain for longer retention period.
  2. If you haven't purchased the storage add-on already, click Purchase add-on link at the Storage Retention field.
  3. If you have already purchased the log storage add-on then, choose the required cold storage duration and click Save .

Why would an organization needs cold storage for logs?

Cold storage retention duration to suit different log management strategies:
  • 10 GB logs storage for six months: Ideal for short-term monitoring and quick issue resolution where logs are not required post-resolution.
  • 10 GB logs storage for one year: Suitable for annual audits and performance reviews.
  • 10 GB logs storage for two years: Recommended for organizations that require a longer audit trail and have moderate compliance requirements.
  • 10 GB logs storage for three years: Beneficial for businesses with extended application life cycle management and deeper historical reviews.
  • 10 GB logs storage for four years: A practical choice for sectors with stringent regulatory requirements, requiring extended data retention.
  • 10 GB logs storage for five years: Essential for ensuring compliance with industry standards that mandate cold storage data retention.

Cold storage retention pricing

These add-ons allow organizations to retain log data for historical analysis and auditing purposes while scaling storage as needed. Here is the list of available storage plans and price:

Storage plan

Retention duration

Price

10 GB logs storage

Six months

$1

10 GB logs storage

One year

$2

10 GB logs storage

Two years

$4

10 GB logs storage

Three years

$6

10 GB logs storage

Four years

$8

10 GB logs storage

Five years

$10

View cold storage retention usage summary

The cold usage summary provides a detailed summary of log storage retention, including log usage, total and daily metrics based on your monthly Site24x7 AppLogs subscription. To view storage log usage summary, follow the steps below:
  1. Log in to your Site24x7 account.
  2. Click AppLogs from the left panel.
  3. Select either of the options, to view the log usage summary page
    1. Click the log usage bar in the top-right corner, next to the Add Log Type button.
    2. Click AppLogs - Search and select Log Usage Summary in the top-left corner.

How can I retrieve the cold storage logs?

The logs in cold storage are made searchable again in the Site24x7 web client by using ReIndex Logs. Once the logs are reindexed for a selected time range, these logs become temporarily accessible for analysis and auditing.

Frequently asked questions

  1. What is log storage retention?
    Log storage retention is an add-on that allows you to select the duration for which collected log data can be archived for cold storage.
  2. What happens when the log storage retention period expires?
    Once the configured retention period expires, the collected logs are automatically deleted from the platform and are no longer searchable.
  3. Can I change the log storage retention period later?
    Yes, you can update retention settings for log types, and the updated configuration will apply to newly collected logs.
  4. What types of logs should be retained longer?
    Security and authentication logs, payment or transaction logs, audit logs, compliance-related system events
  5. What happens if I exceed my log storage limit?
    If the monthly log storage limit is reached, you can either purchase additional storage add-ons or wait until the next billing cycle for the quota reset. Otherwise, the remaining data will not be stored in the cold storage.
  6. How long will it take to retrieve the log storage data?
    As this log data is securely preserved, retrieval may take from minutes to hours, depending on the storage volume. Please refer to the Reindex logs

    • Related Articles

    • Understanding log upload add-ons for large, medium, and small storage needs

      For customers who signed up after August 2024, the default log search retention is set to seven days. Upon changing the retention settings, the log license will be utilized according to the table provided below. Retention days Actual log size ...

    • 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 ...

    • How to re-add deleted monitors in Google Cloud monitoring

      You cannot re-add resources that have been deleted or terminated from the Google Cloud console. Log in to Site24x7 and go to Cloud > GCP > click the Google Cloud project or Google Cloud monitor > Management Actions. Scroll down to the Add Deleted ...

    • How to collect Applications and Services Logs from Windows event logs

      Site24x7 AppLogs uses the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) query on the Site24x7 Server Monitoring agent to fetch event logs. The WMI module requires the registry entry below to read the event logs from the Applications and Services Log ...

    • How do I delete the uploaded logs?

      Site24x7 stores log data for 30 days by default for log management; however, you can customize the retention period. Once uploaded, you cannot delete the log data until the retention period. After the retention period, the collected logs will be ...