Reduce logging to free up disk space

This article applies to our On-Premise Appliance Filter and Firewall product only, not to Cloud.

 

This article will show you how to track disk space usage, and some ways to reduce logging to increase the disk space available.

Set up System Alerts for low disk space

You can set up a notification to be sent to you via email or SMS when you have low disk space.

  1. Adjust the threshold values from Reports > Alerts > Alert settings.
  2. Set up the System Alerts for System Resource Monitor.

Check disk space usage

Datastore settings

You can see how much space the different logs use by going to Reports > Settings > Datastore settings.

Top domains on the dashboard

The Top domains report on the Dashboard shows you potential spamming requests that the Web Filter has blocked. When the blocked requests keep retrying to connect indefinitely, this can cause large data logs.

You can run reports in Reports > Reports > Top Reports to help identify who or what is accessing those domains and the cause, so you can take action to reduce the scale of requests.

Firewall logging on the dashboard

The Disk usage section on the Dashboard shows the amount of disk space taken up by the System and the Logs partitions.

  • System: Holds the proxy cache and reports, so the disk space in use should rarely fluctuate.
  • Logs: Holds all logs generated, so it will likely cause a lack of disk space.

Follow the steps below to free up disk space.

Free up disk space by adjusting your settings

Log retention

Go to Reports > Settings > Datastore settings.

Select Usage estimates to see projected usage for the next month, 3 months, 6 months and year. You can use this to help decide on your retention settings.

  • On this page, you can adjust how long to keep Web Filter and Firewall log data using the slider. Set the maximum retention rate to a value that does not exceed the disk space available.
  • For System logs, you can change the Default retention from Reports > Logs > Log settings.

Proxy settings

You should only enable proxy logging when troubleshooting proxy issues.

  1. Go to Web Proxy > Web Proxy > Settings.
  2. Select the Advanced > button.
  3. Go to the Logging options section.
  4. Select Disable for Proxy Logging to turn off Squid proxy logs.
  5. Select Do not log for Client user-agents, Advert blocks and Local accesses, which can reduce logging by up to 5%.
  6. Go to the Cache options section.
  7. Enter the default value of 1500 MB if you have changed the Global cache size.
  8. Scroll down and select Save and restart with cleared cache.

Firewall logs

You should not enable audits during daily use because they can generate large firewall logs.

  1. Go to Networking > Settings > Advanced.
  2. Find the Audit section.
  3. Ensure the checkboxes for Direct incoming traffic, Forwarded traffic and Direct outgoing traffic are not selected.

Archives and backups

You can set up scheduled archives to automatically back up your System logs. The list will grow and take up more space if you don't remove these.

  1. Go to System > Maintenance > Scheduler.
  2. Set the Prune archives field to a value other than Don’t prune.
  3. Select Save.

Stored reports

If you have automated reports running for a while, they can take up System log disk space.

  1. Go Reports > Reports > Recent and saved.
  2. Select X to delete any reports that are no longer needed.