Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » colocation

Colocation Hosting – A Hard Fit

Art — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:35:33 +0000

Colocation is possibly the most difficult service wherein you may find a reliable host. The very idea steps a bit out of a typical web host’s comfort zone. Your setup is done your way, using (usually) your hardware; things that are normally in the web host’s hands are now in yours. The reason web hosting is such a lucrative business is that individual accounts can be setup by the thousands in a cookie-cutter fashion. Co-location is like asking for a cake, often to your shape and decoration.

Of course, this doesn’t mean it can’t be done, otherwise it wouldn’t be offered anywhere. If this is a service that you need, then you can still find lots of good hosting companies that can offer this to you. However, you need to ask one important question first.

Is there another way?

There is not much that colocation hosting can offer you that you can’t get through other services, such as managed hosting. Sometimes even just a normal shared/budget hosting account can give you everything that you need. Remember also that most of the advantages that come from colocation, such as near-100% uptime and 24/7 support, usually come bundled with other reputable service providers.

On the other hand, colocation comes with the distinct disadvantage that, since your server is specialized, your tech support is likely to be down a notch or two even at the best companies. Web hosts standardize their services for a reason. A quarter-million accounts is enough trial-and-error to hammer out just about every software bug a host might encounter. Bring a server in with its own toys and you introduce the possibility of unforeseen problems that they’ll be addressing from scratch. When that happens, you’re not going to wish the server was right in front of you, not a thousand miles away with a technician who will call you back.

Not scared away yet?

You’ve taken into account the problems and still want to obtain a colocation hosting account. Good for you: this is still a viable service. So how can you make it work best for you?

Here are a few quick questions to ask:

1. Does your host normally support your operating system?

Even if a host offers to the contrary, don’t go with a host that doesn’t have your machine’s operating system among their normal offerings. Even with an honest effort, the learning curve will be too high.

2. How will server updates be handled?

Will you be perofmring them or will they? And is there a per-installation fee?

3. What are the data transfer rates?

This one could go either way. Though hosts have the kind of bandwidth that you don’t, they also know the associated costs. Sometimes, what you are already getting at home will actually be cheaper. Note, though, that this is a market dynamic that most experts see as coming to an end.

Colocation might be the most specialized of all of the “normal” offerings you can get from a web host. That doesn’t make it undoable. Double-check to make sure it’s for you. If it is, there are plenty of good places out there for your site.

Understanding Colocation Hosting

Art — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 08:00:06 +0000

Colocation hosting is a form of web hosting service with some unique features that differentiate it from the standard services found within a large variety of web hosting plans. Generally, a web hosting service provides you with all the necessary resources for setting up and maintaining your web sites. This includes a shared access account to the servers of the web host and the software applications they offer.

Shared web hosting plans are ideal for small websites and flourishing web businesses. However, things undergo a drastic change of scale when it comes to bigger and better companies and websites. These require their own dedicated servers to handle all the strain of the website. Normally, a web hosting service does not quite fit the bill for these companies. So what does? It is collocation hosting that comes to the rescue and here’s how.

The Definition

Colocation hosting is a modified web hosting service where the client uses its own server and lugs it down to the data center of a web host where all the care and maintenance activities are handled by the serving web host. The idea behind using such a service is to be able to use a self owned server custom configured according to the needs and supplement it with the rented resources of a sophisticated data center where all the environmental and Internet connection activities are carried out by the web hosting company.

Benefits Of Colocation Hosting

Programmers and website developers prefer to have the standard activities of website hosting assigned to a service provider and like to have considerable breathing space in terms of the software and hardware capabilities of the server that powers the website. Colocaton hosting is the ideal service to achieve these ends. The control you have over the content and services you can render to your clients through your websites running on a collocation web hosting system is simply amazing.

You know your objectives of creating a website precisely, and might not find a hosting plan that caters to all your needs. A collocation hosting plan allows you to set the hardware and software configuration of your server and thus allows you to enjoy a great deal of flexibility in working with the server. As you concentrate on creating a website that serves your customers, your web hosting service provider takes care of the server’s environment and power supply needs. The responsibility of the upkeep of the server, however, rests with you.

Pioneering Cloud and Colocation Facility Opens

Art — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 06:45:09 +0000

Industry-leading cloud and colocation services company ScaleMatrix recently announced the opening of their pioneering flagship data center. The building was constructed specifically for the purpose of hosting services and boasts 50,000 sq. ft. The facility will house cutting-edge cloud hosting technology and highly efficient colocation space.

Statement from the CEO

In a recent statement by the CEO of ScaleMatrix, he said that the newly constructed facility leverages modern data center hardware to create a highly efficient location, whereas, most competitors operate from facilities that are at least a decade old. Therefore, ScaleMatrix creates a new industry standard with regards to density and overall efficiency.

Facility Characteristics

The facility features innovations in thermal management and cabinet design to create the most efficient, highest density data center location in the region. These attributes allow customers to maximize their hosting investment while minimizing their environmental impact.

Economic and Environmental Impact

The opening of this facility creates two impacts on the surrounding area. The first is from an economic point-of-view as San Diego’s technology sector will benefit from the several hundred new jobs created as well as the capacity requirements. Environmentally, ScaleMatrix’s data center will decrease the requirement for construction of corporate hosting facilities which tend to be much less efficient and have a much higher impact on the environment.

San Diego a Prime Location

The decision to select San Diego as the location for the data center can be attributed to the thriving information technology community and three native San Diegans in high places within the organization. This allows the company to feature best-in-class efficiency while creating new jobs for the region.

Preparing for Future Growth

Cloud computing is currently the fastest growing technology sector. Therefore, ScaleMatrix is positioning itself to rapidly grow through the customization of cost-effective and efficient solutions for a fast marketplace. These data centers are engineered to support scalability and expansion requirements which are the basis of cloud computing technology.

ScaleMatrix Company Information

As an industry-leading Private Cloud Solutions Provider (PCSP), ScaleMatrix has expertise with colocation and dedicated server hosting. Founded as an effort to design, deploy and manage the best private cloud and dedicated hosting technology, ScaleMatrix services a variety of customers from small start-up companies to Fortune 500 organizations.

The new data center confirms their position as one of the leading cloud hosting providers in the industry. The new facility was built to optimize all equipment from an environmental and storage aspect. Hopefully this will entice many new customers to the hosting provider.

Data Foundry Opens Data Center in Austin

Art — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:42:43 +0000

Colocation web hosting provider Data Foundry recently opened its newest data center in Austin, Texas. The company claims the facility is the first “purpose-built, carrier-neutral data center in the Central Texas region.” Preparations for the opening of the new data center began in May 2011 when the company held a large job fair in Austin to hire talented employees for the new location.

Location of the Data Center

The data center is located on a 40-acre data ranch campus in Austin. The opening is the initial phase of the 250,000 square foot facility which is fully functional. Despite the recent opening, the first customers have already begun to move in. Data Foundry currently operates two other carrier-neutral data centers in the state. The first is the ADC which is also located in Austin. The second is the HDC in Houston.

Texas 1 Specifications

Aptly named, “Texas 1”, the infrastructure boasts a diversity of independent power sources, water and network connections with no single points of failure in its cool, power and network systems. The location’s power system is maintained by two independent substations. Also, there is an unground power connection that is enclosed in a concrete duct. This is an extremely rare feature at colocation facilities.

Cooling Solutions

The water system is chilled allowing for flexible cooling solutions which include high-density configurations and single cabinet deployments. Therefore, the most complicated, high performing computing environments can be effectively cooled by the Texas 1 data center. Furthermore, the location boasts over 17 network carriers so customers have a choice between providers.

Announcement from Data Foundry

According to representatives from the Data Foundry implementation team, Texas 1 is the result of 17 years of experience in the operation of data centers. Throughout those years, the team has toured many facilities across the globe which has led to the creation of the Texas 1 data center. These visions will allow the company to compete on a global level. The facility provides an innovative design with flexibility which will benefit customers for many years.

The amount of planning that went into the design, development and opening of the data center is incredible. The company is even offering a full online tour of Texas 1 so customers can view the incredibleness of the location. No detail was missed so customers have complete security and control over their equipment in this high-tech colocation facility.

The Launch of the Savvis Markets Infrastructure

Art — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:14:36 +0000

Savvis, an industry leading managed web hosting provider, recently announced the launch of the first phase of Savvis Markets Infrastructure which enables financial organizations to utilize customized information technology solutions. Savvis was recently acquired by CenturyLink, a telecommunications company, for stock and cash totaling $2.5 billion.

Creating a Flexible Commercial Model

The Savvis Markets Infrastructure will allow users to utilize flexible solutions from within a commercial model. As a result, clients will be able to tailor information technology needs by incorporating a range of capabilities such as colocation, managed and cloud-based hosting. This will provide enough storage, computing power, network services and a high-level of security.

Advantages of the Platform

The web hosting community will benefit from this launch because of the cost-effective connectivity directly to marketplace data, trading partners, execution venues and service providers throughout Savvis’ globally managed, high performing, low-latency network. The system is transparent allowing different parties to view various aspects of the financial organization thus improving communication.

Savvis’ Extensive Data Network

The recent launch will introduce a new commercial model for financial service providers. Future scheduled releases will deliver an enhancement of tools and features. Currently, Savvis boasts 32 data centers across the glove with low latency connectivity through over 200 exchange and liquidity venue feeds. This allows for some of he highest performing data centers available.

Experience with Financial Entities

Savvis has extensive experience with regards to traditional equities and derivatives exchanges, foreign exchange, alternative trading venues and fixed-income electronic communication networks. Therefore, the experts are well aware of the common hardships and limitations faced by modern financial firms from a systematic standpoint and have implemented them into the infrastructure.

Furthermore, Savvis Financial Systems was recently awarded a $9.8 million contract by the United States Federal Election Commission. In early June 2011, NYSE Technologies released a cloud-based platform for the financial industry, more specifically financial traders. This is further evidence of Savvis experience with the financial marketplace and how they can improve companies in the same industry.

The launch of this innovative software package should assist the financial industry with streamlining many processes while providing the other elements required for a successful company. Being that Savvis has experience in the financial market, this platform will cater to those needs and be implemented successfully. The first phase should eradicate the majority of bugs in the system allowing for a clean infrastructure to be implemented in the future.

Telconet Scheduled to Build Two New Data Centers

Art — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:51:41 +0000

Based out of Ecuador, telecommunications company Telconet recently announced its plan to build two new data centers for technology services. Groundbreaking is expected to begin in September 2011. The company currently boasts one data center in Quito and one in Guayaquil, both are in Ecuador. There is currently a growing demand for available sites for business hosting services and the housing of services.

Three Options

The new location will be a colocation facility with low, medium and high-density options. The facility will also play host to physical servers, server virtualization, networking, virtual storage and processing. The company is attempting to cater to clients attempting to post applications in a private or public cloud. Due to the popularity of cloud hosting, Telconet must offering the service to remain competitive with other hosting providers.

Basics Specifications of the New Data Centers

Additionally, the new data centers will be specifically designed to meet Standard 942-2 TIA. Also, the Uptime Institute will provide Tier ratings of the facilities. Tier ratings are an industry measurement of different aspects of the center. Furthermore, each location will feature 1500 square meters of floor space, all of which will be dedicated to computing. The Quito location will be a Tier III with 180 racks. The Guayaquil facility will be Tier IV and feature 400 racks.

Equipment Providers

GE, Schneider Electric APC and Cisco will be a few of the many providers of equipment which will all be interconnected by a fiber optic network with a maximum transfer rate of 20 Gbps. This speed will certainly enhance available backup options.

External Connections to the World

Each data center will be externally connected to Ecuador and the rest of the world through NAP of the Americas high speed connections which is based out of Miami, Florida. Additional connections will be made through Cloud Latin or Cloud Latin American Internet Peering Group which connects Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Argentina and Brazil.

The Growing Demand for Internet Services

With more individuals accessing the Internet on a daily basis, the demand for web hosting services continues to grow. In emerging markets such as South America and China, Internet connectivity is growing a rapid pace. Therefore, website creation and access to websites is also expanding. With the construction of these two new data centers in Ecuador, all South American customers will benefit from the technology.

Ascent to Partner with Comcast

Art — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 21:37:22 +0000

Colocation web hosting provider recently announced it has partnered with industry-leading telecommunications company Comcast Business Services. The partnership will allow both companies to have access to Ascent’s data center in Pittsburgh through Comcast’s fiber optic network. The partnership will grant customers access to colocation, virtualization and managed hosting as well as disaster recovery and business continuity.

Data Center Specifications

The data center is a 20,000 square foot, SAS Type II certified facility located in RIDC Park, O’Hara Township; approximately 12 miles from downtown Pittsburgh. The combination of services between the two companies is a response to the growing demand for cloud hosting services. Both companies are hoping the partnership will offer small and mid-sized businesses with the resources to improve data security and information technology through a point-to-point connection.

Growing Success of Both Companies

Comcast is excited about the collaboration as it will help to continue driving success for both companies through a dedicated Metro Ethernet bandwidth that provides a secure and scalable solution to meet customer’s expanding bandwidth demands. The pairing of services also bring Comcast’s fiber-optic based network together with Ascent’s secure data center to provide customers with quality, performance, robust solutions and exceptional value.

Ascent Company Information

As the leading provider of data center services in the Pittsburgh area, Ascent offers a variety of services including managed, colocation, server virtualization, data security, cloud hosting and business continuity. All customer information and applications are protected by their state-of-the-art data center. Applications and infrastructure is outsources to third-parties which significantly improves operational efficiencies and decreases business risk.

Comcast Business Services Company Information

Comcast Business Services is the leading provider of business-grade Ethernet, video solutions, phone and internet for all types of customers. The voice and data plans come packed with features developed to assist the continued growth of businesses. Comcast’s Metro Ethernet features a 40 gigabit fiber-optic backbone, the largest in the nation. Packaged with the Ethernet is reliable, around the clock support resulting in a robust, scalable solution for organizations of all types.

Ascent Data and Comcast Business Services are leading service providers in their respective industries and regions. Therefore, the partnership between the two organizations should result in a major increase in new customers for both parties. As Comcast continues to expand its services into other industries, the company is continually improving its products and services provide for to a wider audience.

Latisys Expands Credit Facility to $125 Million

Art — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:00:31 +0000

Latisys is the leasing provider of colocation, managed hosting and services and disaster recovery solutions in the United States. The company recently announced a major expansion effort to its credit facility from $110 million to $125 million. The expansion was reflected by strong support for future company growth and the implementation of state-of-the-art data center locations across the United States.

Expanding Efforts with the Extra Credit

The new funds will be utilized for supporting customer growth and expanding capacity at Latisys’ 123,000 square foot data center campus in Northern Virginia. At the beginning of 2011, the firm added 14 megawatts of power and expanding the floor space at the facility by 26,000 square feet. At the same time, Latisys announced a new data center that was optimized to meet the growing demand for high-density space, power and cooling.

Other Recent Expansions

Since then, Latisys has strategically improved its overall operations by acquiring and expanding current facilities while investing in resources toward improving the managed hosting arm of the company. Additionally, the enterprise has expanded its cloud computing capabilities. By increasing the credit facility, Latisys is able to take advantage of the many business opportunities in the Greater Washington, D.C. area and other large markets.

Source of the Credit Facility

The $125 million credit facility is primarily funded by an existing group of eight financial institutions including, RBC Capital Markets, Bank of America, CapitalSource, GE Capital, Caterpillar Financial Services, TD Securities, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and Madison Capital Funding.

Current Facilities

Latisys currently boasts state-of-the-art data centers in Northern Virginia, Denver, Chicago and Irvine, California resulting in coverage across all U.S. time zones. This allows for unmatched scalability and multi-site redundancy for all information technology infrastructure demands, setting them far ahead of the competition.

Information about Latisys

Latisys provides managed hosting and services, colocation hosting and disaster recovery solutions to government agencies, enterprises and medium-sized businesses. Founded in 1994, Latisys has been serving customers utilizing multiple high-density SAS70 Type II data centers across the United States. The company continues to offer its popular scalable outsourced IT infrastructure management solutions providing everything a customer could need.

Latisys is a major player in the web hosting industry boasting some of the most hi-tech facilities and best managed solutions. With this credit facility expansion, the company will be able to further its presence and continue to have a commanding edge over the competition.

Three Reasons Why Colocation Hosting Is More Expensive

Art — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 20:01:41 +0000

Colocation web hosting is perhaps the most expensive type of hosting available, so most people don’t consider it when shopping for a potential hosting plan. In fact, most people don’t even know what a colocation hosting plan is, or what the term “colocation” means. A colocation hosting plan is a service that allows you to store your privately owned web server in a state-of-the-art data center that is secured and stabilized at all times. In essence, it is a way to save money from having to pay for an office or regular storage unit (which is really not the best environment for a web server). A colocation facility provides an ideal climate, constant airflow, and specialized server racks that are specifically configured to accommodate the hardware needs of a web server. The following are three reasons why colocation hosting is more expensive than conventional web hosting.

Futuristic Data Centers

A “colocation facility” is actually a data center, which is a large building that houses hundreds (or even thousands) of web servers in futuristic environmentally controlled rooms. Overall, a datacenter contains millions of dollars of equipment, and many of them maintain multiple high-speed Internet connections with various Internet service providers simultaneously. By providing multiple connections, colocation hosting providers can offer redundancy, so that your web server will be online at all times. Data centers are also equipped with highly effective fire extinguishing systems, professionally trained in-house Internet technology specialists, and air filtration systems that cost as much as $10,000 in each room. In order to provide this server care and service stability to customers, colocation hosting providers must charge a more expensive monthly fee.

State-Of-The-Art Surveillance

The second reason why colocation hosting is generally more expensive than conventional web hosting is the amount of effort and the monetary investments that the hosting provider devotes to keeping your web server secure. Not only are the facilities monitored by state-of-the-art surveillance technology, but all of the equipment (including your web server) is insured, so there is no risk of having the hardware damaged or stolen without it being restored or replaced. Colocation datacenter facilities are usually guarded by several tall watch posts, and barbed wire fencing exceeding the height of 8 feet around the entire perimeter the facility. Since the colocation hosting provider has a lot of expenses in terms of employee payroll and equipment overhead, these additional expenses have to be passed on to the customer to make the business profitable.

The Additional Value of Optimizing Web Server Performance

By dealing with a colocation facility you are gaining access to multiple high-speed Internet connections from various Internet service providers. Thus, you have the advantage of maintaining an optimal connection to the Internet for your web server at all times, regardless of the local or regional circumstances affecting the Internet and other hosting providers. This type of assurance is not possible if you choose to store your privately owned Web server within your home or office, because if the single Internet connection is lost, so are all of your current server tasks (such as keeping your websites online).

The Freedom and Flexibility of Colocation Hosting

Art — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:04:58 +0000

Online business owners usually require various services to keep their endeavors operating smoothly and supply the tools and resources needed to continually create new websites and online business opportunities. Web hosting is such a service, as it is the first thing that is needed by every webmaster. In essence, you need access to the web server if you want to host a website on the World Wide Web. However, some people choose not to utilize a conventional web hosting plan, and instead purchase their own private web server. Once the server is purchased it must be stored in a safe area that has an ideal environment for server operation, which is low in dust, has a continually maintained temperature/humidity index, and maintains constant airflow to the server at all times. Web server owners also need to consider the safety of the server in terms of vandalism, theft, and other forms of hardware damage. Fortunately, colocation hosting is a web server storage service that keeps your web server safe all times.

What Is Included with a Colocation Web Hosting Plan?

In essence, a colocation hosting plan is simply a service that allows you to store your private Web server in a data center that is connected to the Internet via multiple high-speed connections. Thus, the colocation hosting plan you will receive access to state-of-the-art facilities, a fully customized private server rack for your Web server’s, multiple connections to the Internet, automatic server backups and redundancy, and (with some more comprehensive plans) technical support. All collocation web hosting plans include 24-hour security, and the facilities are protected by both digital surveillance and state-of-the-art fire extinguisher systems. Without a co-location hosting plan you be forced to store your private Web server in your home, office, or in a storage space (none of which are an ideal location for an operating Web server).

What Are the Advantages of Colocation Hosting?

The main advantages colocation hosting is the safety and stability it provides for your Web server, giving you access to facilities and stability that would otherwise be unobtainable without spending millions of dollars. For a nominal monthly fee you’ll receive full support from trained technical staff, and your Web server will be stored in environmentally controlled server rooms. Many colocation hosting providers also ensure the web hosting equipment, so that if your Web server is damaged in any way while it is being stored at the facility it will be replaced immediately. Colocation hosting providers also make automatic backups of your entire Web server on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, in order to provide complete redundancy that will ensure your websites are online at all times.

Freedom and Flexibility of a Colocation Hosting Plan

Perhaps the most appealing advantages of colocation hosting is the ability to do whatever you would like that your web server in terms of software and hardware configurations. Regardless of how many web servers you own, or what type of operating system you prefer to use, you’ll be able to do it all collocation hosting, as you are not forfeiting your ownership of the web server. By having complete control over what your web server you can eliminate many of the conventional limitations and restrictions placed on bandwidth, disk space, databases, and other aspects of server expansion.

Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » colocation

Colocation Hosting – A Hard Fit

Is there another way?

Not scared away yet?

Related posts:

Understanding Colocation Hosting

Related posts:

Pioneering Cloud and Colocation Facility Opens

Related posts:

Data Foundry Opens Data Center in Austin

Related posts:

The Launch of the Savvis Markets Infrastructure

Related posts:

Telconet Scheduled to Build Two New Data Centers

Related posts:

Ascent to Partner with Comcast

Related posts:

Latisys Expands Credit Facility to $125 Million

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Three Reasons Why Colocation Hosting Is More Expensive

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The Freedom and Flexibility of Colocation Hosting

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