Disk space management changes for Cloud Containers

Running out of disk space on Cloud Containers can lead to data loss and application downtime, which is not ideal. To optimise our workflow and improve our services, we’ve found a more efficient way to help you avoid this issue.

For years we've been personally reaching out to customers and letting them know that their disks are getting full, occasionally upgrading them ourselves to prevent disruptions. Since the majority of these cases are similar, we are going to automate the process in the next few days.

The new process is outlined in the Knowledge Base, but what's most important to know is that we'll send an email alert when your storage reaches a first threshold. After giving you time to free up storage or increase your disk space, the next step is an automated storage upgrade.

The goal is to ensure that you don't lose data or uptime.

We will warn you first

If your server's available storage drops below a healthy threshold, which in most cases is 5GB or 10%, whichever is lesser, we'll drop you an email. That gives you time to investigate the issue at your own pace.

By cleaning up your existing storage, or adding more, you can keep your application running happily.

If things get closer to 100% full, we will permanently upgrade you

After giving you some time (at least 3 hours) if we see your available disk space fall below our emergency threshold (usually below 5% or 2.5GB – whichever is the lesser) our new automated system will add 5GB of disk space to your server. This is a permanent upgrade that will provide some room to breathe while you figure out your next steps.

Our Cloud Container servers support live disk upgrades so there won’t be any downtime. And we avoid cascading upgrades by limiting each server to only one automatic disk upgrade per week, as this will often be a sign of unexpected usage.

Addressing recurring issues and unexpected surges

You might have already realised that there are situations where this new system will take no automated action:

• Your server reached the emergency threshold within three hours of the initial warning (i.e. your available storage quickly dropped from 10% to 5%, or from 5GB to 2.5GB).

• Your server was automatically upgraded within the last seven days.

With our new virtualisation platform disk upgrades are permanent, so in cases when a small bump in disk space might not be enough we'll work with you. These situations will be escalated through our traditional monitoring system to one of our experienced team members.

It is important that all our services are the best they can be. SiteHost strives to save our customers time and stress, so there’s no need to worry about the little things and they can keep their eye on the big picture. We hope this new storage management system process helps streamline your experience with us, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to help!