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Colocation Buyer's Guide |
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What is colocation?
Colocation (Co-location, collocation) is placing an independent server on an established Internet backbone, which provides a constant high-speed connection from the Internet to the server. It is the provision of space for a customer's telecommunications equipment on the service provider's premises. Servers are usually mounted in metal racks in a purpose-built facility with a large amount of Internet connectivity. These services are for companies who require complete control over their server configuration. In addition, the company is purchasing bandwidth for their servers at a much lower rate than buying their own fiber lines. The space used by the company’s server(s) is measured in Rack Units (or 'U'). This is the unit of measurement used for defining the vertical space used. A 'U' is equivalent to 1.75 inches (4.45cm). A full rack contains 40 to 42U.
Some typical-sized servers:
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1U Server (1.75" high) |
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2U Server (3.5" high) |
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4U Server (7" high) |
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Source: Hostpronto.com | |
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There are also managed servers (managed by ISP), which means that the server processes and hardware are monitored, data is backed up and any problems are usually resolved by the ISP. Companies should consider managed servers because of benefits such as lower resource costs, reduced infrastructure costs, focus on strategic IT initiatives, improved reliability, avoidance of capital and time intensive data centre expansion etc.
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Types of Colocation
There are two main types of colocation:
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Collocated server services - In a colocated environment, the server is your own. In this case, you provide the hardware, and the hosting company provides the facility, bandwidth etc. The customer pays a housing fee (called a “rack fee”) in addition to the Internet uplink that runs directly into their server. If you expect internet traffic growth and require more resources, possibly even an additional server, you should consider colocated server(s).
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Dedicated server services - If the company does not have its own server, some companies offer to build a server for them. In a dedicated environment, the server itself is owned or rented by the hosting company. This option is usually more expensive than colocation but you receive the full package including hardware, software, bandwidth, etc. Leasing also allows you to easily upgrade as you server needs change. However, if you do not expect to have a great deal of traffic, and you would prefer the additional support that providers give, a dedicated server may just be the right way to go. |
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Co-located Servers
Advantages
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Dedicated Servers
Advantages
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Monthly fee is significantly lower than what the same-range dedicated server would cost you (depending on the plan)
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Greater flexibility
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Ability to use existing hardware
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More control over web server administration
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Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
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You choose the hardware and how it is configured
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You can prepare and configure the servers locally before sending them to the Colocation Centre
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It can be cheaper to add components to your own colocated servers
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Colocation costs more initially (server purchase expenses), but in the long term it could work out cheaper. This will all depend on your business strategy and the price negotiations you make
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The more servers you have, the more cost effective it becomes
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You can build and fix your own server(s).
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You have the ability to offer dedicated servers to your clients |
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You do not have to own the hardware
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You do not have to worry about the security, disasters, support…
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Great choice if you are inexperienced in this field
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You can easily upgrade your servers to higher-end solutions
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Easier to get into than colocating your own servers
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You choose the hardware and how it is configured
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Start-up costs are less. You do not need to spend the money to purchase the servers
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No server insurance is required
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You can 'get out' of the business without too much initial capital outlay
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Colocation Disadvantages
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Dedicated Disadvantages
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You must purchase all of the hardware unless you have an existing machine that will serve your needs
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You have to have the knowledge and experience of the hardware and software running on your system
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Hardware may become outdated quickly
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Web Server Administration is your responsibility
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You need Insurance
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Typically, bandwidth costs more with colocation hosting
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You need to maintain the servers yourself (or pay others to manage them)
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There is a possible risk of your colocated equipment being damaged, lost, stolen or even held for ransom by your Colocation hosting provider
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Colocation costs more initially (server purchase expenses), but in the long term it could work out cheaper. This will all depend on your business strategy and the price negotiations you make
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The more servers you have, the more cost effective it becomes
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You have to fix hardware problems yourself - or pay someone else to do that
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You do not have to own the hardware
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You do not have to worry about the security, disasters, support…
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Great choice if you are inexperienced in this field
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You can easily upgrade your servers to higher-end solutions
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Easier to get into than colocating your own servers
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You choose the hardware and how it is configured
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Start-up costs are less. You do not need to spend the money to purchase the servers
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No server insurance is required
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You can 'get out' of the business without too much initial capital outlay
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Costs of Co-location
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There are two costs associated with colocated servers:
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Rental Fees - These are the costs associated with actually having your server located in the hosting company’s data centre.
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Connection Fees - Instead of measuring the total number of gigabytes transferred per month, a connection average is usually used. So a 1 Mbps connection means that you can average 1 megabyte of transfer per second for the entire month. However, there are two points to consider here: how the transfer is measured. Some simply take the amount of bandwidth used that month, divide it by the number of seconds in that month and others use a system called '95th percentile' in which bandwidth measurements are taken every 5 minutes. At the end of the month, the top 5% of readings are discarded, and the highest remaining reading left is what the user is billed at. With Burstable connections (while you may be allowed to average 1 Mbps) you can suddenly burst to a higher transfer rate.
>> Click here to get colocation quotes from qualified colocation providers |
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1. Introduction
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Selecting a colocation provider
Before you start searching for colocation provider, you need to analyse your own operation and determine your needs:
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Where you want to colocate (location)
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How often will you require access to your equipment?
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How much space do you require from the provider
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Preference between cabinets, cages or rooms/suites
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How much bandwidth you require
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What bursting speeds you are anticipating
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What kind of support you will require
After you know what you need and what you do not, decide which criteria are the most important ones on your list and keep those priorities in mind as you speak with providers (for example, what are the key criteria that must be fulfilled). It is rare that the cheapest quote will offer best value. The adage “you get what you pay for” invariably applies to colocating. You may be tempted to take the cheaper route but make sure you are comparing ‘apples with apples’. Often colocation sold on price alone is lacking and this will inevitably lead to increased risk of downtime. This is not only damaging to your bottom-line but is also unprofessional and is likely to result in instant credibility loss amongst your users.
So,
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First of all decide on which type of hosting best suits your company’s needs
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Next, select 3-5 providers who are qualified to provide the services your require and ask them to quote
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How do I know which providers to ask? You may wish to use the free services of a technology broker like onestopclick. The initial vendor analysis incorporates a number of business, technical, service level and pricing factors. This will ensure that the hosting providers that put together a proposal for you are qualified to meet your exact needs. This may be in the location of their data centres relative to the proximity to your offices; or the level of security or choice on Internet backbones on offer at each centre. For further information on their research methods refer to their Market Watch Intelligence index (MWI)
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Talk with the sales and technical staff. See if you are comfortable with them. This is important as they will be part of your team
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Questions to ask a potential colocation provider
Q: Do you have 24 x 7 access to the facilities? Escorted or Unescorted? How much advance notice do you need? If escorted, how much does it cost?
Also be sure you understand which employees will be granted access to the facility, and in what scenarios an employee of the colocation company or vendor technician will be allowed to access your equipment. If you have a maintenance contract, can the technicians (who may vary each call-out) have access? How will this be controlled and monitored?
Q: Do you have 24 x 7 onsite support? Or must people be called into the data centre? Support options are important as you want to make sure that the people that work with your servers are both knowledgeable and helpful. A good method of testing the hosting company’s level of support is to call their support line and see if you can reach someone, or to simply them send an email inquiring about a hosting package and compare their response time to that of other companies.
Q: Is extra support available (Remote Hands, Remote Reboots)?
You should find out exactly what 'Remote Hands' support charges are. Also find out of they perform any tasks for free, for example - Remote Reboots. Also ask whether they have 24 x 7 onsite support, how you contact them for 'Remote Hands' support (phone, helpdesk), and how fast is their response. These questions must be answered to give you a good idea of the quality of service. |
Q: SLA (Service Level Agreement)
It is extremely important to ensure that your hosting company has guarantees regarding the performance of the services (i.e. Internet connectivity). Ensure you understand what the Service Level Agreement states, and don’t be afraid to ask for additional guarantees if the SLA does not suffice. Q: Can you provide onsite/offsite backup?Having enough power is not enough (refer to ‘What size of UPS do I need?’ FAQ). Your servers must continue to operate even if a facility loses power. The best facilities will have backups for the backup equipment in these key areas. In addition to this, you should ask what the fees for backups are, and how often they are performed. Q: Has the facility been engineered to withstand disasters?Ask whether the data centre has been engineered to withstand disasters such as bomb blasts, fires, flooding or depending on location, earthquakes, hurricanes etc. You want to ensure that your server and the data it contains are kept safe. Q: How secure is your facility? Educate yourself about the physical security in place at the facility. It is important to know where your server will be physically located. A visit to the centre is advised. See how you are treated and watch out for any lapses of security. Q: Do you offer any additional services (Firewalls, managed colocation hosting, complex hosting setups, load balancing, clustering, tape backup services...)?Q: How many IP addresses can be provided?If you want to be using features such as anonymous FTP, private name servers, or game servers, having multiple IPs can become important. The hosting company should be checked for how many IPs they can provide and at what cost. Q: Are there any additional fees?In certain places, you can physically colocate your server with one hosting company, while having the internet connection provided by another. These additional fees are called cross connect fees. Q: Do you offer scalable solutions (expanding to multiple servers, cabinets, cages)? How much is additional space?
Q: Do you provide server monitoring? How is the service monitored? Is it independent of the colocation company onestopclick asks all of these questions and continually monitors hosting providers to ensure that quality of service is maintained. Use our services free of charge. | |
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Frequently Asked Questions |
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Q: What is a Colocation centre?
A: It is an equipment hosting service for Telecommunications Carriers, Internet Service Providers, Application Service Providers and any other company requiring reliable, secure and neutral Internet hosting services with fast connections. Also known as data centre & Internet hotel.
Q: What is the difference between a dedicated server and colocation? A: With colocation, the customer houses their own equipment at the hosting company’s premises, which the colocation provider then connects to the Internet backbone. A Dedicated server is different in that it is owned by the hosting company rather than the customer.
Q: What does 1U mean?
A: It is the unit of measurement used for defining the vertical space used in a racked cabinet. A 'U' is equivalent to 1.75 inches (4.45cm). A full rack contains 40 to 42U.
Q: What amperage do I need? A: The amperage you need depends on the load or amount of A/C, your system is pulling and the equipment the UPS will support. First, determine all the hardware items that will be connected to UPS (your colocation equipment), and then determine the amp rating for each hardware item and add the ratings together (usually you can find amp ratings on the back of the equipment). Multiply that total by 220 Volts (for the UK) to get Volt Amp rating (VA). You should request an amperage that exceeds your VA total and ensure that the provider has this as a minimum.
Q: How long will UPS work?
A: The run-time determines how long the UPS will provide safe power. Normally, UPS companies provide two run-times -- the run-time at half-maximum power, and the run time at maximum power. Therefore, if a UPS is rated at 450VA and has a listed full-power capacity of six minutes, that means you can expect 6 minutes worth of safe power if you're draining the UPS at the full rated power of 450VA. Typically, the half-power run-time will be longer than twice the full-power run-time, because the backup batteries work much more efficiently when they are not fully loaded. In general, you can get longer run times by picking a higher-rated UPS.
Q: What are ‘remote hands’? A: Remote Hands gives you the opportunity to utilise the fully-trained technical expertise of the service provider’s technical operations team to undertake essential on-demand work on your behalf. Remote Hands support can be requested at any time 24/7 with the support team carrying out pre-defined tasks or work through issues with the customer via phone, email, etc. The costs for Remote Hands support vary between colocation providers and are usually on a 'per hour', 'per half an hour' basis or in time blocks per month. In that way, you can rest assured knowing a 24x7 support team can access your servers immediately to diagnose and resolve any situations that may occur. This is an ideal solution for companies who need regular support. Please note that remote hands services are not offered by all colocation providers.
Q: What are Carrier-Neutral Data Centres? A: Carrier-Neutral Data Centre do not operate their own networks, but they allow customers to choose from a variety of telecommunications company’s backbones. The customer therefore has more bandwidth provider options, better diversity and often 'better' bandwidth. Bandwidth from the carrier themselves is often cheaper in the carrier facilities. With several carriers at the same location, competition leads to better discount pricing. On the other hand, renting colocation space out in a carrier-neutral data centre is generally more expensive.
Q: What is Multihoming?
A: Multihoming is a way to protect your company against all kinds of eventualities (disconnection, software bugs, configuration mistakes etc.); the way of having more than one connection to the Internet. So, in case the first connection goes, you can start using second one. You can do that in three different ways:
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Get two independent connections with two IP addresses (This solution is not the best one, because all ongoing communication sessions are disrupted by the change in IP address and because this kind of functionality is not always available in routers, servers, or other equipment. This is generally only workable if the multihomed network only has clients and not servers.)
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Get two connections from the same ISP (This option is much cheaper and your ISP protects you against most configuration mistakes. However, you still have to depend on the same ISP.)
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Get two connections from two different ISPs, but use the same IP address range over both (In this way, you are not only safe from physical problems with connections, but also from ISP-wide failures and nearly all types of configuration problems that affect just a single ISP. However, all major routers throughout the Internet must know over which ISPs your IP addresses are reachable at all times.)
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Glossary
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Backbone – A backbone is a larger transmission line that carries data gathered from smaller lines that interconnect with it. On the Internet or wide area network, it is a set of paths that local or regional networks connect to for long-distance interconnection. The connection points are called network nodes or telecommunication data switching exchanges (DSEs).
Downtime – It is a total period during which equipment is not operating correctly because of machine failure, repairs or maintenance, within an agreed service times.
ISP – Internet Service Provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Multihoming – You are multi-homed when you have two "upstream providers.” It is buying IP service from more than one service provider and then switching between the connections for the best connection.
MWI – Market Watch Intelligence is the index that OneStopClick uses to evaluate and select vendor partners most suited to client’s specific project. The initial vendor analysis incorporates a number of business, technical, service level and pricing factors. The MWI Indexes are used to filter and select those vendors who can meet client’s exact needs.
POP – Point of Presence is an access point to the Internet. ISPs have typically multiple POPs. A point of presence is either a physical location, part of the facilities of a telecommunications provider that the ISP rents or a separate location from the telecommunications provider that houses servers, routers, ATM switches and digital/analog call aggregators.
QoS – Quality of Service - In circuit-switched networks it refers to the probability of being able to initiate a call to another party. In packet-switched networks it refers to the probability of the network meeting a given traffic contract, or in many cases is used informally to refer the probability of a packet passing between two points in the network.
Rack unit– The space used by company’s server(s) is measured in Rack Units (or 'U'). This is the unit of measurement used for defining the vertical space used. A 'U' is equivalent to 1.75 inches (4.45cm). A full rack contains 40 to 42U.
Remote hands - Remote Hands gives you the opportunity to utilise the fully-trained technical expertise of the service provider’s technical operations team to undertake essential on-demand work on your behalf. Remote Hands support can be requested at any time 24/7 with the support team carrying out pre-defined tasks or work through issues with the customer via phone, email, etc…All activity is logged and reported to the customer. Useful for equipment uptime as intervention can happen in minutes vs. hours for own technician or supplier call out services.
SLA – Service Level Agreement is a contract between a network service provider and a customer that specifies, usually in measurable terms, what services the network service provider will furnish. Many Internet service providers ISPs provide their customers with an SLA.
UPS – Uninterruptible Power Supply is a device that sits between a power supply (e.g. a wall outlet) and a device (e.g. a computer) to prevent undesired features of the power source (outages, sags, surges, bad harmonics, etc.) from the supply from adversely affecting the performance of the device. Such sources have a VA (Volt-Amp) power rating that defines the supply capability. Dividing that rating by the power line voltage of the equipment to be powered (110V or 220V) yields the supply current capability.
Uptime - The uptime is the time since last reboot of the front-end computer or computers that are hosting a site. It can be detected by looking at the data that is recorded when we sample a site. We can detect how long the responding computer(s) hosting a web site has been running, and by recording these samples over a long period of time we can plot graphs that show this as a line. |
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