Introduction
This article explains the automated log archiving we employ to conserve disk usage and how long we stored web server log files.
Why Archive?
Even with a lightly visited website, the generated log files may reach into the tens of gigabytes over a year.
How archiving works
Once a day - typically in the early morning - an automated scheduled task compresses all log files that are over five days old. These compressed log files are placed within the archive folder within your website's logs folder. Each log file is compressed individually, so the archive folder will contain one compressed file per day. Once a log file is archived to a compressed file, the original log file is removed.
How long are archived logs stored
As per our standard data retention policy, all log data whether archived or not, is retained for one year (365 days). All files older than this are automatically deleted by the archiving task.
We do not apply any data retention limits on statistics generated from log files.
Can I download my archived log files?
You may download log data (files and archives) at any time via FTP. Instructions on how to download may be found in the article Download web server log files.
Can I delete my archived log files
Simply no. We are are subject to a number of UK legal requirements with regards to the retention of log data. This applies to all of our services, not just web traffic. More information is available in our Legal Documents & Policies and, in particular, our Data Retention Policy.