Data Centers

The Facts of Colocation Hosting



Colocation Hosting

Collocation hosting is a recent buzzword in technological breakthroughs. Collocation is best defined as the process of locating of equipment in another location. On the contrary the client in alternative locations defines collocation hosting as the location of personal servers usually the collocation is of high-end data center.
This data center is invariably a packaged composition and this process of collocation hosting includes the likes of a high speed internet connection, space, highest level of security, regulated air temperature and professionally managed server solutions to name a few. Collocation. The collocation service providers could come in different hues which could extend from space service providers who rent space in the data centers and are companies in their own right, the data center owners or even those who are collocation resellers and not even located on site.



The Collocation Hosting Option

Collocation hosting of services by self may not be the simplest of procedures but they are invariably accompanied by innumerable advantages. The collocation hosting service providers would enable the client to benefit from the data center's security, network and environment at all times. This collocation of hosting services is done at the state of art high-end data centers and need to focus on numerous factors if they are to be a success story.

The start up operations would depend on the number of servers that need to be collocated, the bandwidth service providers, the business strategy being adopted and the location of data center of choice these and more would determine the start up costs of the project.



Service Profiling

A visit to a few data centers could be very informative a commonality factor which is visible in all data centers is what is known as the rack and this rack is important for the collocation service hosting provider charges a monthly rental for the rack space used. The servers in data centers are stored in cabinets, which in turn are stored on racks.

The collocation hosting follows a few protocols which are fundamental to the collocation hosting services and need to well comprehended by all collocation hosting services user at best the upkeep and maintenance of the servers is the sole responsibility of the user and not the collocation hosting services provider and the cost of the high speed internet is borne by the user and not the service provider.



Evaluation Protocol

The choice of an ideal data center is not by cost rather it is by the quality of the data center. The data center of choice needs to adhere to a set protocol which will include high end security, fast internet connectivity, environment, power backup and fire protection measures to name a few.

The collocation hosting service providers selection then is more than merely selecting a high end data center it is rather a combination of numerous factors the most important other than the selection of a data center being flexibility and control which is best exhibited by the freedom to select the software and the hardware configuration of choice.




Build and Manage IT in-house -vs- Outsourcing

Too Big for a Small Business

As businesses began to increase their focus on having reliable and available data centers, centers began to grow in size and complexity. No longer a single room housing a comparatively simple computer system, businesses now required very large Internet data centers. These large data centers are expensive to run, expensive to maintain, and expensive to staff.

These huge data facilities were out of the reach of many small businesses. These smaller organizations also needed the high speed Internet connectivity and high availability of data, but they did not have the resources to build such physically large and expense data centers. Even the equipment required for such an endeavor was often out of the financial reach of a small business.



The Advent of Data Center Outsourcing

Private centers became the go-to solution for small to medium business information technology needs. Data center outsourcing grew in popularity, largely because it was a practical and financially more viable solution to the problems created by huge, on-site data centers.

  • Skilled IT Professionals:
    A data center is only as good as its staff. Security and networking teams need to be well-trained, skilled, and experienced. Network technicians need to be trained to the highest industry standards.
  • Proper Environment:
    The environment of a data center is of the utmost importance. There must be an uninterruptible power supply or backup generator, a highly sensitive HVAC system to filter air, a fire suppression system, and proper installation of equipment.
  • High Level of Security:
    Your data needs to be protected, and the first level of defense is the physical security of the building. There should be controlled access, video surveillance, and extensive employee background checks.
  • Top of the Line Equipment:
    Network infrastructure is one of the most important aspects of data center planning. When selecting a data center, make sure equipment selection and infrastructure set-up receive the emphasis they deserve.
  • Strict Adherence to Standards: Industry standards are around for a reason. They help make sure data centers provide high quality service, maximum availability, and top-shelf security measures.
  • Not only are outsourced centers more affordable, they also lift much of the heavy responsibility from the business. Disaster recovery, adhering to industry standards, ensuring a secure and hospitable environment for information storage and management, and many other practical concerns can make in-house data centers a logistical nightmare. When organizations place their trust in an off-site data center, they do not need to shoulder this burden alone.

    What to Look For in Outsourcing Data Storage

    When you outsource your data center responsibilities, you want to be selective in your choice of a data storage partner. Every moment that you network is not up and running, your business is being affected. A high availability data center will place a great deal of emphasis on the following:



    The Advantage of Outsourcing

    In house data centers simply cannot offer the same kind of reliability and economic viability as off-site data centers. An organization must allow its focus to remain on the health of its business operations, rather than getting bogged down in the details of managing data. Outsourcing your data center allows you to keep your focus where it should be: on your own organization.

    The complicated and expensive nature of today's data center needs make it impractical for a company to expend huge amounts of resources on an in-house data center. It just doesn't make good financial sense. Instead, outsourcing your data center allows you to put those resources back into your company, further strengthening your organization.


Data Centers And The 100% Uptime Guarantee

When your website is "down" it's about as good as not having a site at all. There are no visitors coming in and certainly no revenue. In fact, the high costs and potential loss from your website going down can dramatically affect your bottom line. Because of this, most organizations seek to outsource their colocation needs. It is extremely important to choose a data center that will protect your critical data and documents from risk or disaster and guarantee that they will never go down.

A number of data centers are now guaranteeing "100% Uptime" in their advertising and marketing materials. The purpose of this article is to help you define the concept of the 100% uptime guarantee and how it applies to your online business.



The 100% Uptime Guarantee Explained

An uptime guarantee refers to the amount of time that a data center can certify that their systems are active and available to clients. The most reliable sites will guarantee 99.9% to 100% uptime in their Service Level Agreements. Anything less than that can spell trouble - downtime and lower availability.

There are, however, data centers that only promise 99.5% uptime. A data center that can only guarantee 99.5% uptime may experience up to 216 minutes of downtime each month. That's more than 3 1/2 hours! Consider this: if your site was hosted at this data center, would that downtime hurt your business? How many visitors may have tried to come to your site during that time? What's the average revenue your company could have made? 216 minutes can seem like a lifetime when your site is down and that can definitely affect your bottom line.

On the other hand, there are data centers that can guarantee uptime from 99.9% up to 100%. If your site was hosted at a site that guaranteed 99.999% uptime, your website may only experience 26 seconds of downtime in a month and that is a considerable difference.

The most reliable data centers offer complete coverage by guaranteeing 100% uptime that includes power, space, network access and internet bandwidth in their Service Level Agreements. Some colocation sites even notify all of their clients if the guarantees were not met and compensate them for it automatically. That is the best uptime guarantee you can get!

Several key components that can affect uptime include infrastructure, power, back-up power, cooling, security and safety. Best-in-class data centers can guarantee 100% uptime because they use carrier-grade or better infrastructure to deliver their services. They use state-of-the-art equipment in their facilities and protect it with technologically advanced security systems. Remove any of these components and the data center can become unreliable and clients will experience significant downtime that could lead to disaster for your online business.

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