How to Check SharePoint Site Storage: Tips for Effective Capacity Management

How to Check the Storage Capacity of a SharePoint Site?

SharePoint provides administrators with several methods to monitor and manage the storage capacity of sites effectively. Understanding how to check the storage capacity ensures that you can plan for storage needs and maintain optimal performance across your SharePoint environment.

4 Methods of SharePoint Site Storage Capacity  Check 

To check the storage capacity of a SharePoint site, you can utilize several methods provided by SharePoint's administrative tools. Here’s a step-by-step guide outlining each method:

Method 1: Using SharePoint Admin Center

Step 1. Sign in to Office 365: Go to office.com and sign in with your Office 365 account credentials.

Step 2. Access SharePoint Admin Center:

• Click on the SharePoint app launcher icon (waffle icon) in the top left corner.
• Select "Admin" to access the Microsoft 365 admin center.
• In the left-hand navigation pane, expand "Admin centers" and click on "SharePoint" to open the SharePoint admin center.

Step 3. View Storage Metrics:

• In the SharePoint admin center, navigate to the "Active sites" tab or "Storage" tab, depending on your version of SharePoint.
• Here, you will see a list of all site collections within your SharePoint environment.
• Locate the specific site collection you want to check and click on it to view detailed information.
• Look for the storage metrics section, which displays information such as total storage used, remaining storage available, and storage allocation settings.

Method 2: PowerShell Script

Step 1. Open PowerShell:

• Open PowerShell on your computer. Ensure you have the SharePoint Online Management Shell installed.

Step 2.Connect to SharePoint Online:

• Run the following commands to connect to SharePoint Online:

  # Connect to SharePoint Online Connect-SPOService -Url https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com 
  

Step 3. Retrieve Storage Information:

• Use PowerShell cmdlets to retrieve storage information for specific site collections:

  # Get storage information for a specific site collection Get-SPOSite -Identity https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/yoursite | Select StorageUsageCurrent, StorageQuota 
  

• This command retrieves current storage usage and allocated storage quota for the specified site collection.

Method 3: Site Collection Settings

Step 1. Navigate to Site Settings:

• Navigate to the SharePoint site whose storage capacity you want to check.
• Click on the gear icon (settings icon) in the top right corner of the site and select "Site settings".

Step 2. NView Storage Metrics:

• Under "Site Collection Administration", click on "Storage metrics".
• Here, you can view storage usage details for the current site collection, including total storage used, available storage, and storage quota settings.

Method 4: SharePoint Online Management Shell

Step 1. Launch SharePoint Online Management Shell:

• Open SharePoint Online Management Shell on your computer.

Step 2. Connect to SharePoint Online:

• Connect to SharePoint Online using your administrative credentials:

#Connect to SharePoint Online
Connect-SPOService -Url https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com

Step 3. Retrieve Storage Metrics:

• Run the following command to retrieve storage information for all site collections:

  # Get storage metrics for all site collections Get-SPOSite | Select Url, StorageUsageCurrent, StorageQuota 
  

• This command displays a list of all site collections in your SharePoint Online environment along with their current storage usage and allocated storage quota.

How Much Storage Does a SharePoint Site Have?

Determining the exact storage allocation for a SharePoint site involves understanding the limits and configurations set by administrators. This knowledge is crucial for planning and managing storage effectively to avoid exceeding capacity limits and potential disruptions.

View Site Collection Limits

SharePoint site collections have predefined storage limits that administrators can configure based on organizational requirements:

• Admin Center Settings: Navigate to the SharePoint Admin Center and select the specific site collection of interest. Within the settings, administrators can view and adjust storage limits as needed. It's important to regularly review these limits to ensure they align with evolving storage needs and organizational growth.
• Storage Allocation Policies: Organizations may implement policies that govern how storage limits are allocated across different departments or functional areas within SharePoint. These policies help maintain consistency and fairness in resource allocation while optimizing storage utilization.

 Check Site Storage Usage

Monitoring site storage usage provides real-time visibility into how much storage is currently being utilized:

• Site Settings: Within each SharePoint site, administrators can access site settings and navigate to the storage management section. Here, they can view detailed reports on storage usage, including breakdowns by document libraries, lists, and other content repositories. This information helps identify storage-intensive areas that may require optimization or cleanup efforts.
• Quota Management: SharePoint allows administrators to enforce quotas on individual sites to prevent storage overages. By setting site-specific quotas, administrators can proactively manage and allocate storage resources according to business priorities and usage patterns.

How Do I Add Storage to My SharePoint Site?

Expanding storage capacity in SharePoint involves adjusting settings and configurations to accommodate growing storage needs. Understanding how to add storage ensures that administrators can scale SharePoint resources effectively to support business growth and increased data demands.

To add storage to a SharePoint site, consider the following steps:

• Admin Center Settings:  Access the SharePoint Admin Center and navigate to the storage settings section. Here, administrators can review current storage allocations and adjust quotas or limits to increase available storage space for site collections.
• Storage Quota Adjustment: Modify storage quotas for individual site collections to allocate additional storage capacity. Administrators can adjust quotas based on site usage patterns, projected growth, and organizational priorities.
• Subscription Plans: Evaluate different SharePoint Online plans that offer increased storage limits and scalability options. Upgrading to higher-tier plans provides access to expanded storage capacity and enhanced capabilities for managing large volumes of data.
• Free Up Used Space: Apart from upgrading your current plan to get more space, you can also try to delete some unnecessary files to reclaim more used space. If that does not work well, you can transfer all your SharePoint data to another cloud and totally release the space. In this situation, MultCloud can help you a lot. It is capable of moving all data from one cloud to another, and automatically delete the source data once the transfer is done.

By following these guidelines and leveraging SharePoint's storage management tools effectively, administrators can ensure that their SharePoint sites have sufficient storage capacity to support business operations, compliance requirements, and future growth initiatives. Regular monitoring and proactive management of storage resources are key to maintaining optimal performance and user satisfaction within the SharePoint environment.