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Server hosting is probably the most popular use for
colocation. This can apply to hosting VOIP
servers, web hosting servers, email servers, or a myriad
of a hundred other server hosting services. All of
these services are best served by having the servers
hosted in an Internet
colocation facility.
Server Hosting
Colocation Basics
Servers are often hosted in a
data center to improve
reliability of the connectivity to them, but there are a
number of other common reasons that companies choose to
host their servers in a colocation facility. Here
are a few of the most popular reasons:
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Cooling - when a
company's on site servers grow in number, it is easy
to overwhelm a business offices cooling capacity.
Also, business offices often have the AC on a
schedule that will not allow it to be run 24/7.
In addition to this if you need the AC systems to be
redundant, in case of an outage, it can be nearly
impossible to get a business office to meet these
standards. When your need reached this level,
the only answer is to move the servers to a
colocation hosting facility.
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Power - Every server
that is running requires power - and for servers it
is best not to just use city power, but power that
is backed by a UPS and generator backup. Many
business offices do not have generator backup and it
would take a special permit that would also allow
the generator fuel to be stored. This kind of
power upgrade is often not a possibility at a
business office, so the natural choice is to
collocate the servers.
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Cost Savings - The
cost of
Internet bandwidth is expensive, especially
if you are comparing adding fiber to a business
office. It can cost as much as $10,000/month
to get 100Mbps Internet bandwidth at a business
office. It is even more expensive if you want
three different 100Mbps Internet connections to have
redundant Internet paths. In a colocation
server hosting facility, 100Mbps Internet bandwidth
can be purchased for as little as $10/Mbps
($1000/month), and this includes lots of redundant
connectivity, saving thousands of dollars each
month. There is also tremendous cost savings
on the 24/7 on site staff, AC, and premium power
services.
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Reliability From Quality And Redundancy - Internet
data centers are the most reliable way to have maximum
uptime. This is because Class A servers hosting
facilities have everything in redundancy. Dual
AC systems or more for every suite, hundreds of
Internet backbone networks all in the one facility,
redundant core routers, redundant power with UPS and
Generator Backup, and are fully staffed around the
clock 24/7 with knowledgeable network and computer
engineers who are ready to help with anything at an
instant. All this means much more reliable
server hosting for near 100% absolute uptime.
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Fast Restoration Of
Services - If a server is just hosted at the
business office of a company and the server needs a
few commands typed someone would have to get up,
scramble for the keys, drive to the colocation server
hosting facility, find parking, go into the facility,
find the server, type the commands to help recover the
facility, and the finish up and drive back. All
this can take hours, but in a Class A colocation
facility the hosted servers can be rebooted and an
authorized, knowledgeable NOC Computer engineer can
type the commands and have the server restored and
back online in as little as five minutes. This
fast restoration of services really makes server
hosting in a professional data center the only way to
go.
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24/7 On Site Support - When a server is kept at a
home or business office, it is not always possible for
the CS or MIS staff to stop what they are doing to go
physically to the server at any time 24/7. It
may be that the MIS manager is on vacation in Hawaii,
or visiting Spain with his family. But in
contrast, when the servers are hosted in a
professional staffed data center, there is always
someone available to help with anything that may be
needed onsite. |
Server Hosting
Hardware Choices
The first thing to consider is to choose power
efficient equipment. Not all equipment is as power
efficient as it can be. In fact some servers built
use general power supplies that use three times the
power that is actually needed for the computer and its
parts. This is because many general power supplies
are able to handle a variety of voltages that may not be
needed on your specific computer. These general
purpose power supplies are the most used because they
cost the least. They cost the least because they
can be user more often than other voltage specific
computer power supplies.
When servers are selected for hosting, the power that
each requires determines how many will be able to be
collocated with a specific power circuit that comes with
the server hosting services. This can mean the
difference between hosting 10 servers in a cabinet and
hosting 25 power efficient servers in the same cabinet
for the same server hosting cost. Because of this,
checking the power demand of equipment is one of the
most important consideration in choosing servers hosting
hardware.
Also, remember to get servers that will fit in a
colocation cabinet. Be sure your servers are under
31 inches deep, and you will be sure to have a variety
of the best colocation options open to you. The
most common depth of colocation cabinet is 31 inches
deep and most servers will fit within these dimensions
however, there are a number of servers that companies
offer that are available in different form factor
including depths that are greater. Colocation
server hosting customers sometimes mistakenly assume
that it would be less expensive to collocate a 1u server
that is 38 inches deep, than to collocate a 2u server
that is 28 inches deep. This false assumption is
based on thinking about the cost per u for space, but
the truth is that is an individual chooses the longer 38
inch deep servers they will automatically limit the
colocation facilities that they can collocate their
equipment within and thus eliminate the best facilities
and the different special rates offered within them.
The cost savings of the specials at these superior
facilities far outweighs the cost of an additional u of
space that these facilities might actually include for
free.
Next be sure to choose reliable equipment. This
is choice based on understanding of the different server
vendors that the company is considering. reliable
equipment is not always the least expensive but it
always is less expensive to have quality equipment that
does not fail often.
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