Chapter 17 · 17.6
Storage full: where's the space going?
Every package has a fixed amount of storage space for your website, your e-mail and your databases combined. If it fills up, your package stops working properly. Read here how to see what's using the space, how to free up space and how to order more.
What happens when your storage is full?
- New e-mails can no longer be stored and are rejected. The sender gets a notification back.
- Your website can no longer write files: uploads, updates and caches fail, and sometimes the site shows an error.
- Backups and installations can fail.
WebOké measures how much storage your package uses every night, and warns you in good time by e-mail: from 75% usage, more often from 90%, and every day at 100%, until usage is back under the limit. That e-mail includes an Expand storage button. DirectAdmin can also send its own notification when you're close to a limit; you'll see this under Message Area (see Messages in DirectAdmin).
How much am I using?
On the DirectAdmin dashboard, you can see how much you're using under Disk Space. In User statistics you can also see how much of that is in your e-mail and your databases (see User statistics: visitors and data traffic). Click Update there for the latest figures.
What's using the space?
- In DirectAdmin, under System Info & Files, click User statistics.
- Click the Disk usage tab.
- You'll see the breakdown. Under System Quotas is everything in your package's folders. Click Expand to see which folders are the largest.
The folders that are most often large:
| Folder | What's in it? | What can you do? |
|---|---|---|
| imap and Maildir | Your e-mail. | Clean up mail in your mail program or webmail: empty the trash and the junk mail folder, and delete or archive old mail with large attachments. Don't delete anything here via File Manager. You can see the usage per mailbox under E-mail Accounts (see Storage per mailbox and what happens when it's full). |
| domains/yourdomain.nl/public_html | Your website. | The space is often taken up by uploads (photos and videos) or a cache folder. Shrink large photos, and empty your caching plugin's cache. |
| application_backups | Backups made by Installatron during automatic updates. | You can delete old backups here. You can also set how many backups Installatron keeps (see Making and restoring backups in Installatron). |
| backups | Backups you've made yourself in DirectAdmin. | Download what you want to keep and delete the rest (see Freeing up space: cleaning up old backups). |
| Backup folders from plugins, such as wp-content/updraft or ai1wm-backups | Backups from a WordPress plugin. | Download and delete old backups, or have the plugin store them externally. |
In File Manager you can also see the size per folder. Click the settings button at the top right and turn on folder sizes (see Opening File Manager: the directories in your package). On a package with SSH, it's quick with du -sh * in the Terminal (see Terminal in your browser).
Tip: deleted files in File Manager may first end up in the trash and still count towards your usage. Empty the trash. Also, the figures in DirectAdmin aren't updated immediately: click Update or check again later.
Ordering more storage space
Can't free up enough space, or is your package simply growing? Then expand your storage space in My WebOké:
- In My WebOké, go to My Products and click Admin next to your package.
- Under Usage (1), you'll see how much storage space you're using. Below that, click Expand storage (2).
- Choose the new size. For each option, you'll see the cost and what you'll pay extra now for the rest of your current billing period.
- Confirm your choice. The extra space is active immediately; your website and e-mail keep running as normal.
You can go back to a smaller size in the same place. Just make sure your usage stays under the new limit.
Can I also do this in My WebOké?
Yes. Besides expanding, the AI assistant in My WebOké can also tell you what's using your storage space: how much is in your mail, your databases and the largest folders, and per mailbox. For example, ask "Why is my storage full?". The assistant only looks; it never deletes anything.
Frequently asked questions
My storage is full and I can no longer log in to DirectAdmin.
Log in via My WebOké (see Signing in via My WebOké) and temporarily expand your storage, or free up space via webmail or FTP. If that doesn't work, open a ticket.
I've freed up space, but DirectAdmin still shows the same figures.
Click Update in User statistics. On the Expand storage page in My WebOké, usage is measured again when you open it (at most once every 5 minutes).