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Tips For Colocation Services
by Archivo Ospite
http://www.abwebhosting.com

If you own a server and want to connect to the Internet,
there are companies that will handle the connection for
you. This service is known as colocation. Companies that
want to have complete control over their server
configuration often choose the colocation route. The
difference between a colocated server and a dedicated
server is that in a dedicated environment the web hosting
company owns the server.

If you are colocating a server, there are a number of
factors to consider that don't apply to dedicated servers.
A major difference is that both rental fees and connection
fees apply to a colocated server. Rental fees are the
charges for physically locating your server in the web
host's data center. The server is measured by its height,
usually from 1U to a full rack. Most servers are either
1U or 2U configurations. However, servers with a large
number of hard drives could be as large as 3U or 4U.

Connection charges are based on a connection average
rather than the total number of gigabytes transferred per
month. For example, a 1 mbp/s connection means that for an
entire month you average 1 megabyte of transfer per second.
One way of measuring the transfer is to take the amount of
bandwidth used in a given month, divide it by the number
of seconds in that month and arrive at the transfer figure.
Another more popular method of measurement is called the
"95th percentile". With this method bandwidth measurements
are taken every 5 minutes. At the end of the month the
highest 5% of readings are not counted, and the highest
remaining reading that is left is the measurement used for
billing.

Besides rental and connection fees, there are other
considerations to keep in mind. Since you own the server,
where your server is physically located is important. In
the case of a natural disaster how safe is your equipment?
You want to be certain that your server and the data it
contains are as safe as possible. What kind of security is
in place in the building? Who will have access to your
server? You want to ensure that only those people who have
the appropriate authorization will be able to access your
server.

How fast will your server be able to connect to the
Internet? That depends on the bandwidth offered by the
hosting company. You will need to determine how important
speed is. Some companies offer amazingly high speeds and
equally high prices. You can often save a few bucks by
opting to go with a provider that uses a slightly slower
bandwidth. Check out the bandwidth of potential hosts by
perusing their web page. How fast does the page load? Is it
slow and cumbersome? A slow-loading page can indicate the
company's Internet connection is already overloaded.

When you talk with companies about colocation services,
have a list of any special features you use. Make sure
the host can support such features as private nameservers,
anonymous FTP or game servers with several IP addresses.

Technical support can be the defining factor in you
colocation experience. Be sure to select a host that has a
knowledgeable staff. Ask about IT certifications and other
qualifications. Also determine how easy it is to access
customer support and how fast they respond to problems.

You'll also want to ensure that acceptable guarantees are
in place with regards to the level of uptime.

Get that uptime guarantee along with other important
considerations in writing. Make sure the contract carefully
spells out the terms of service, length of contract, level
of service and payment terms. Don't be afraid to negotiate
for the service and guarantees you need.

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