How to check the Size of SharePoint Storage?

Managing storage in SharePoint is crucial for keeping everything running smoothly and making sure you don’t exceed your limits. Whether you’re working with SharePoint Online or a local SharePoint setup, keeping an eye on storage usage is a vital responsibility for IT administrators/IT Managers.

Why Keep an Eye on SharePoint Storage Usage?

1. Stay Within Your Limits: Make sure you don’t hit the storage caps set by your SharePoint subscription or organization.
2. Identify Excessive Usage: Find sites or libraries that are taking up too much space.
3. Boost Performance: Avoid slowdowns that can happen when storage gets too cluttered.
4. Plan for Growth: Figure out when you might need to add more storage.

How to Check SharePoint Storage in SharePoint Online

If you want to check your SharePoint storage in SharePoint Online, it’s pretty straightforward through Admin Center.

Here’s how to check your storage usage in the SharePoint Admin Center:

1. Log in to Microsoft 365 Admin Center:
   • Navigate to admin.microsoft.com and sign in using your admin credentials.
2. Access the SharePoint Admin Center:
   • From the navigation menu, select Admin Centers.
   • Then, please click on SharePoint to open the Admin Center.
3. View Storage Usage:
   • In the Admin Center, go to Active Sites under Sites.
   • You’ll see the storage usage for each site listed in the Storage Used (GB) column.
   • If you want a visual overview, just click on Settings > Storage Metrics for a specific site.
4. Check Total and Available Storage:
   
   • To find out your total storage allocation and how much you have left, navigate to Settings > Site Storage Limits in the SharePoint Admin Center.

How to Check Storage Usage in On-Premises SharePoint

Want to keep tabs on your storage usage in an on-premises SharePoint environment? You can easily do this by either diving into the Central Administration site or using PowerShell.

Using Central Administration

1. Open Central Administration: Access it from the server that’s running SharePoint.
2. Navigate to Site Collection Quotas and Locks: Navigate to Application Management and then click on Site Collection Quotas and Locks in the Site Collections section.
3. View Storage Usage: Pick a site collection and check out the current storage usage in the quota details.

Using PowerShell

For those who are comfortable with scripting, PowerShell can give you a detailed look at your storage metrics.

1. Open PowerShell as an administrator.

2. Run this command:
   • This command will list all site URLs along with their current storage usage (in MB).
   • Get-SPOSite -Limit All | Select-Object URL, StorageUsageCurrent

Best Practices for Managing SharePoint Storage

1. Set Quotas: It's a good idea to set storage limits for each site collection to prevent any overuse.
2. Use Retention Policies: Take advantage of retention policies to automatically clean up old files.
3. Archive Unused Data: Consider moving data that you no longer use to external storage or an archive.
4. Monitor Regularly: Make it a habit to review your storage usage periodically to stay on top of things.

Conclusion

Keeping an eye on your SharePoint storage is crucial for maintaining a smooth and organized workspace. Whether you're working with SharePoint Online or an on-premises version, following these steps will help you effectively monitor and manage your storage, ensuring your organization steers clear of any storage-related hiccups.