Upgrade to 2GB Storage Quota
On June 1, 2025, SVPAL is upgrading all Basic and Hosted Accounts to 2GB of storage. This is an increase from the current 1GB limit. The Hard Quota Limit will be extended to 3GB at the same time.
Motivation
In order to insure we have sufficient resources for all SVPAL users, we must impose limits on the amount of storage each account uses on our systems. This storage limitation is referred to as a “quota.” Accounts that exceed quota may incur a storage usage change based upon the average monthly storage usage.
Soft (Free) Quota Limit - 1GB
The soft quota limit defines the amount of system storage an account may use for free. The soft quota for each account is 1GB. When an account exceeds the soft quota, it is sent a weekly warning about excess usage.
Hard (Maximum) Quota Limit - 2GB
The hard quota limit defines the maximum amount of storage an account may use. When an account reaches the hard quota no more files or email may be stored for that account.
Storage Charge
Accounts that keep their average monthly storage usage under the soft quota (1GB) incur no storage charges. Accounts whose average monthly storage usage exceeds their soft quota are charged $0.01/MB each month that they exceed the quota. The average monthly storage usage is rounded up to the next whole megabyte when computing this charge. For example:
An account whose average monthly storage usage is 1001.3MB (megabytes) exceeds the soft quota of 1GB by 1.3MB. When computing the storage usage charge this 1.3MB is rounded up to 2MB and a $0.02 storage usage charge is imposed for that month.
In another example:
An account whose average monthly storage usage is 1214.8MB (megabytes) exceeds the soft quota of 1GB by 214.8MB. When computing the storage usage charge this 214.8MB is rounded up to 215MB and a $2.15 storage usage charge is imposed for that month.
Average Monthly Storage Usage
Each day at approximately 3am the system records the storage usage for each account on the system. This is the daily storage usage for each account. At the end of each month, the system computes and records the average monthly usage for each account by summing the daily values of each account and dividing by the number of days in that month.
Flexibility
The quota system has been designed to be forgiving. It allows users to temporarily exceed their quota by substantial amounts as long as the monthly average is maintained below the soft quota. If your average monthly usage exceeds the soft quota you will incur a modest storage usage charges in addition to your normal monthly account charges. If you must leave your mail inbox unmonitored for a period of time, the only cost is a modest storage usage charge. No special arrangements are needed.
However, if your usage reaches the hard quota, you may lose email or other content you store on the system. If you need this much storage on the system, contact support so that we may raise your hard quota to an appropriate level. You will continue to incur excess storage charges for usage over the 1GB soft quota.
Email Inbox
Your SVPAL account stores incoming email in your email inbox. Your email inbox consumes storage space on the system and counts against your storage quota. Accessing your email normally does NOT delete messages from the server. Your email inbox keeps getting larger unless you expicity delete the old emails.
Account Folder
Your SVPAL account allows you to store files in your account folder. This storage may be used to store saved email, personal web site files, or any other file storage you require. Saved email is typically stored in the Mail sub-folder. Your personal web site files are stored in the public_html sub-folder.
Scratch Folder
Each SVPAL account has a scratch folder where files may be temporarily stored. The scratch folder is intended as an area where you can place files for download. Files placed in you scratch folder are automatically deleted within 48 hours. You should delete these files yourself when you are done with them to allow other users to use the storage that these files are occupying. In any case, the system will delete these files.