So, you have a great business idea for selling Cloud based
services and have invested money in purchasing your new server hardware and
software. So what happens next?
Well, there are a few things to think about before a server
can be collocated such as;
How will the server
physically fit into the rack? – All hardware equipment in a Data Centre is
kept in rack space. These racks have mounting brackets so that servers with
rack mounting kits can be screwed into position. Some servers are not rack
mountable and would therefore require a shelf within the rack to sit on. Rack
shelves usually cost extra as they are non-standard but that said, most modern
servers do have rack mount kits available as an option along with side rails so
that they easily fit into the racks themselves.
Who will install the
server? – Some Data Centres will insist that you deliver and install your
own equipment whilst others are more flexible and may offer to arrange for a
courier to pick up your server and then install it on your behalf, at a cost of
course, whereas others may include free installation so long as you sign up for
a minimum 12 month contract term.
What about IP
addresses? – When you have a device on the internet, it will need an
address so that it can be contacted. The internet uses ‘IP Addresses’ for this
purpose and your Data Centre can supply these as part of your co-location
package. Sometimes more than one IP address is required and in some cases
addition IP requirement cost extra or require written justification as to the
need for many IP addresses. Some Data Centres however include a reasonable
amount of addresses at no extra cost.
How much will I have
to pay? – How long is a piece of string? It all depends really and there
are many different factors which can affect the price for collocation. Some
Data Centres charge for physical space i.e. the more rack space the equipment
takes up, the more it costs to co-locate. Others charge on power consumption so
it is worth bearing this in mind when purchasing hardware, especially if it is
second hand or older kit as they are usually are a lot less energy efficient
and can cost a small fortune to co-locate. Some Data Centres will also charge
for high bandwidth or data transfer usage whilst some will use a mixture of all
of the above to calculate their prices. As a rough guide most Data Centres
start their collocation packages at around £50 per month and this would be for a
1U* server with low to average power consumption of around 0.5amps.
What is a service
level agreement (SLA)? – Typically a SLA is a guarantee from the Data
Centre that they will provide a service that will be consistent, reliable and
have a realistic uptime. Failure to meet the service level agreement often
results in a financial penalty in the form of a refund or credit for the Data
Centre, which means that it really is in their best interests to ensure that
the core services such as internet connection, power and cooling do not suffer
or go down. Most Data Centres have efficient alerting systems in place so that
they can catch any problems as soon as they occur and either fix or use an
alternative method to deliver the faulty service.
How will my server be
protected from hackers? – The most obvious answer to this is to use some
kind of firewall device, one that can protect against such attacks. You can
supply your own or, if you have limited firewall experience, most Data Centres
can offer a managed firewall service at an additional cost. There are also many
software firewalls available, especially with some of the open source operating
systems such as Linux.
How do I choose the
right Data Centre for me? – The best way to get started is to search on
Google for collocation, colocation or co-location in your chosen locality and
you will get a good range of options. Some will have an online price calculator
or perhaps a list of standard package prices so you can get an idea of how much
it is going to cost you. However, I would recommend asking yourselves these
questions before contacting them;
- Do I need easy access at short notice?
- How long would it take me to travel to the Data Centre in the event of an emergency?
- How long a contract term am I prepared to commit to?
- What are the Data Centres chances of going out of business?
- Do the staff seem knowledgeable from a technical point of view?
- How will and how soon will I be alerted if there is a problem?
- Do I need to give notice if I wish to cancel my contract and if so, how long?
- Will my data transfer requirement increase over time?
- Is there onsite technical help in case of an emergency if I can’t physically get to the Data Centre?
I also think that it is important to speak to the people who
are running the Data Centre so you get a feel for what they are like as people,
or better still try to arrange a site visit so that you can look at the
facilities and make sure that they meet up to any expectations which are
portrayed on their website. A good Data Centre should have systems in place so
that very little, if anything at all goes wrong which means that regular
contact and support issues are kept to a bare minimum.
The need for collocation is increasing on a daily basis as
internet connections become faster and more reliable, the benefits are becoming
all too clear and companies are buying into the concept of ‘Cloud Services’. I
hope this article has shed new light on what co-location is and how it plays an
integral part in the Cloud.
*”U” or “RU” refers to a defined unit of space within a data
rack and ‘1U’ occupies 1.75” or 44.45mm of space. In more simple terms it takes
up 3 hole spaces on the standard rack side rails. Some servers can come in 1U
sized cases and are often referred to as ‘pizza boxes’ as they do resemble an
actual pizza box. Most full height racks are 42U so in theory they could host
42 1U sized servers.
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